XTX Topco Ltd Trims Position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

XTX Topco Ltd lessened its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 60.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,431 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 12,841 shares during the period. XTX Topco Ltd’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $1,252,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Menard Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC now owns 4,845 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $628,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. McAdam LLC increased its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. McAdam LLC now owns 2,531 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $376,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. increased its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 13.5% during the 3rd quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 646 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $96,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its position in Agilent Technologies by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 2,570 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $382,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rovin Capital UT ADV grew its position in Agilent Technologies by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Rovin Capital UT ADV now owns 5,049 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $750,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. 87.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on A. Bank of America lifted their target price on Agilent Technologies from $140.00 to $147.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Agilent Technologies from $157.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Barclays dropped their target price on Agilent Technologies from $145.00 to $135.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $151.00 target price on shares of Agilent Technologies in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on Agilent Technologies from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $143.14.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Dominique Grau sold 9,990 shares of Agilent Technologies stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.00, for a total transaction of $1,448,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 40,011 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,801,595. This trade represents a 19.98 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Agilent Technologies Trading Up 2.4 %

NYSE:A opened at $144.00 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $137.15 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $136.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.58, a PEG ratio of 4.46 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. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $124.16 and a 1 year high of $155.35.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 25th. The medical research company reported $1.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $1.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.38 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a $0.248 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.69%. This is a boost from Agilent Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.40%.

About Agilent Technologies

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.