Federated Hermes Inc. Has $14.39 Million Stake in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Federated Hermes Inc. decreased its position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 72.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 103,494 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 265,576 shares during the quarter. Federated Hermes Inc.’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $14,389,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 11,076,270 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,238,549,000 after acquiring an additional 39,030 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 17.4% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 10,255,526 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,146,773,000 after acquiring an additional 1,519,134 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 6.6% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,097,313 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $458,162,000 after acquiring an additional 254,998 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 4.9% during the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,677,277 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $299,373,000 after purchasing an additional 124,671 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 233.7% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,666,416 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $370,552,000 after purchasing an additional 1,867,377 shares during the period.

Insider Transactions at Agilent Technologies

In other news, VP Rodney Gonsalves sold 4,828 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,178,021. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, SVP Philip Binns sold 2,827 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.54, for a total value of $417,095.58. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 9,997 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,474,957.38. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Rodney Gonsalves sold 4,828 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.00, for a total transaction of $719,372.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 21,329 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,178,021. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 61,610 shares of company stock valued at $9,220,333 in the last 90 days.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of Agilent Technologies stock opened at $133.91 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $141.21 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $130.08. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $96.80 and a 1-year high of $151.58. The company has a market cap of $39.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.88, a PEG ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 1.11.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The medical research company reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.22 by $0.07. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 27.09% and a net margin of 18.35%. The firm had revenue of $1.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.59 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.37 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.51 EPS for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 24th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.236 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 1st. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.70%. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.38%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on A. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Agilent Technologies from $67.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $130.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of Agilent Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $145.00 to $163.00 in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $141.29.

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.