Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) Shares Sold by State of Tennessee Department of Treasury

State of Tennessee Department of Treasury lowered its position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) by 5.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 64,357 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 3,473 shares during the period. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury's holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $8,646,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in A. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Agilent Technologies by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,615 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $537,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Agilent Technologies by 4.7% during the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 4,466 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $663,000 after buying an additional 201 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in Agilent Technologies during the 3rd quarter valued at $535,000. Tidal Investments LLC increased its stake in Agilent Technologies by 8.2% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 14,752 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $2,187,000 after buying an additional 1,113 shares during the period. Finally, Dudley & Shanley Inc. bought a new position in Agilent Technologies in the third quarter worth approximately $8,300,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.42% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A has been the subject of several recent research reports. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies to $135.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $138.00 to $115.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $116.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Agilent Technologies from $155.00 to $135.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $161.00 to $159.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $143.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Daniel K. Podolsky sold 1,819 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.46, for a total transaction of $211,840.74. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 35,737 shares in the company, valued at $4,161,931.02. This represents a 4.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Rodney Gonsalves sold 1,908 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.98, for a total transaction of $232,737.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 21,786 shares in the company, valued at $2,657,456.28. This represents a 8.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.26% of the company's stock.

Agilent Technologies Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of A traded up $0.39 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $107.26. 302,644 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,867,923. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $115.80 and a 200-day simple moving average of $130.66. The company has a quick ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 2.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $96.43 and a twelve month high of $155.35. The stock has a market cap of $30.58 billion, a PE ratio of 24.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 1.19.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The medical research company reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.04. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 25.56% and a net margin of 19.27%. The business had revenue of $1.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.67 billion. On average, analysts anticipate that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 1st were paid a dividend of $0.248 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.92%. Agilent Technologies's payout ratio is 22.76%.

Agilent Technologies Profile

Agilent Technologies, Inc provides application focused solutions to the life sciences, diagnostics, and applied chemical markets worldwide. The company operates in three segments: Life Sciences and Applied Markets, Diagnostics and Genomics, and Agilent CrossLab. The Life Sciences and Applied Markets segment offers liquid chromatography systems and components; liquid chromatography mass spectrometry systems; gas chromatography systems and components; gas chromatography mass spectrometry systems; inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry instruments; atomic absorption instruments; microwave plasma-atomic emission spectrometry instruments; inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry instruments; raman spectroscopy; cell analysis plate based assays; flow cytometer; real-time cell analyzer; cell imaging systems; microplate reader; laboratory software; information management and analytics; laboratory automation and robotic systems; dissolution testing; and vacuum pumps, and measurement technologies.