Fenimore Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A – Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 170,225 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,666,000. Fenimore Asset Management Inc. owned 0.06% of Agilent Technologies at the end of the most recent quarter.
Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $393,291,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 939.8% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,296,512 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $256,796,000 after acquiring an additional 2,075,649 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in Agilent Technologies by 233.7% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,666,416 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $370,552,000 after buying an additional 1,867,377 shares during the period. Morgan Stanley increased its stake in Agilent Technologies by 79.4% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,145,767 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $620,414,000 after buying an additional 1,835,413 shares during the period. Finally, Meritage Group LP acquired a new position in Agilent Technologies in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $184,437,000.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
A has been the topic of several analyst reports. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $130.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. TheStreet upgraded shares of Agilent Technologies from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research report on Friday, December 8th. Bank of America cut shares of Agilent Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $130.00 to $133.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 12th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Agilent Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 19th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $128.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Agilent Technologies presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $138.29.
Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on A
Agilent Technologies Stock Performance
Shares of NYSE A traded down $1.39 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $144.17. 1,376,340 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,638,486. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $138.83 and its 200-day simple moving average is $127.05. The company has a quick ratio of 2.04, a current ratio of 2.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.33, a P/E/G ratio of 4.40 and a beta of 1.11. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $96.80 and a twelve month high of $151.58.
Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A – Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The medical research company reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.07. Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 18.35% and a return on equity of 27.09%. The firm had revenue of $1.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.59 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.37 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.51 earnings per share for the current year.
Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 24th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 2nd will be given a $0.236 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 1st. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.65%. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.38%.
Insider Transactions at Agilent Technologies
In other news, Director Heidi Fields sold 1,658 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.34, for a total value of $239,315.72. Following the transaction, the director now owns 54,976 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,935,235.84. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director Heidi Fields sold 1,658 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.34, for a total transaction of $239,315.72. Following the transaction, the director now owns 54,976 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,935,235.84. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Rodney Gonsalves sold 4,828 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.00, for a total transaction of $719,372.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 21,329 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,178,021. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 61,610 shares of company stock worth $9,220,333.
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.
Further Reading
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