Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) Stock Position Raised by D.A. Davidson & CO.

D.A. Davidson & CO. boosted its holdings in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 79.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,267 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,214 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO.’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $976,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. AMF Tjanstepension AB bought a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies during the third quarter worth about $2,726,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Agilent Technologies during the 3rd quarter valued at about $12,961,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in Agilent Technologies by 173.6% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 27,113 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $4,026,000 after purchasing an additional 17,203 shares during the last quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 7.7% in the third quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 2,732 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $406,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares during the period. Finally, Lake Street Advisors Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 2.9% during the third quarter. Lake Street Advisors Group LLC now owns 3,295 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $489,000 after buying an additional 94 shares during the last quarter.

Agilent Technologies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:A opened at $135.33 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $38.61 billion, a PE ratio of 30.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.67 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a current ratio of 2.09. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $140.97 and a 200-day moving average of $139.34. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a one year low of $124.16 and a one year high of $155.35.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last announced its earnings results on Monday, November 25th. The medical research company reported $1.46 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $1.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 25.43% and a net margin of 19.80%. Agilent Technologies’s revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.38 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be issued a $0.248 dividend. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.73%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. Agilent Technologies’s payout ratio is 22.40%.

Insider Transactions at Agilent Technologies

In other news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,911 shares of Agilent Technologies stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total transaction of $286,650.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 39,652 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,947,800. The trade was a 4.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on A shares. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $157.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 9th. Bank of America decreased their price target on Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Barclays upgraded shares of Agilent Technologies from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $135.00 to $145.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Agilent Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 24th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $144.38.

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.