Bellevue Group AG Boosts Position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Bellevue Group AG raised its position in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 48.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 540 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 177 shares during the quarter. Bellevue Group AG’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $79,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in Agilent Technologies during the first quarter valued at $938,000. UBS Group AG grew its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 84.5% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 325,695 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $45,281,000 after acquiring an additional 149,159 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 27.1% in the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 1,609,420 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $223,758,000 after acquiring an additional 343,175 shares in the last quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC raised its stake in Agilent Technologies by 77.7% during the 4th quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 4,882 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $679,000 after acquiring an additional 2,135 shares during the period. Finally, Meritage Group LP lifted its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 28.3% during the fourth quarter. Meritage Group LP now owns 2,116,862 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $294,307,000 after purchasing an additional 467,451 shares in the last quarter.

Agilent Technologies Stock Down 0.6 %

NYSE A traded down $0.79 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $136.53. 585,907 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,767,392. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $96.80 and a 52 week high of $155.35. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $134.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $137.63. The company has a market cap of $39.83 billion, a PE ratio of 32.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.67 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 2.15 and a quick ratio of 1.64.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 29th. The medical research company reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.03. Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 18.84% and a return on equity of 26.25%. The business had revenue of $1.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.58 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.27 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 24th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 2nd were paid a $0.236 dividend. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 2nd. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.22%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays lowered their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $125.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $135.00 price target (down from $152.00) on shares of Agilent Technologies in a report on Monday, June 3rd. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $126.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Bank of America boosted their target price on Agilent Technologies from $134.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Agilent Technologies from $165.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $138.06.

Insider Buying and Selling at Agilent Technologies

In related news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,958 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.00, for a total value of $254,540.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 25,185 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,274,050. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,958 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.00, for a total value of $254,540.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 25,185 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,274,050. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Dominique Grau sold 15,000 shares of Agilent Technologies stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.28, for a total transaction of $1,999,200.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 49,486 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,595,494.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

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.