International Assets Investment Management LLC Buys New Shares in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm acquired 76,209 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,595,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of A. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton grew its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 51.1% in the 4th quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 284 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the period. Gradient Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 1,978.6% in the 4th quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 291 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 277 shares in the last quarter. Arlington Trust Co LLC purchased a new position in Agilent Technologies during the 4th quarter valued at about $43,000. Finally, Column Capital Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Agilent Technologies by 1,111.1% during the third quarter. Column Capital Advisors LLC now owns 327 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares in the last quarter. 87.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Agilent Technologies news, Director Heidi Fields sold 1,658 shares of Agilent Technologies stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $7,935,235.84. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Michael R. Mcmullen sold 52,297 shares of Agilent Technologies stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total transaction of $7,844,550.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 253,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $38,086,350. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Heidi Fields sold 1,658 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.34, for a total value of $239,315.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 54,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,935,235.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 61,610 shares of company stock worth $9,220,333 over the last quarter. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

A opened at $139.45 on Monday. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $96.80 and a 12-month high of $151.58. The company has a market cap of $40.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.20, a PEG ratio of 4.22 and a beta of 1.13. 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 company’s 50 day moving average is $142.07 and its 200 day moving average is $131.79.

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 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 business had revenue of $1.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.59 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.37 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.5 EPS for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 24th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.236 per share. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, April 1st. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.38%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $132.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Agilent Technologies from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Stifel Nicolaus raised Agilent Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $145.00 to $163.00 in a research report on Friday, April 5th. UBS Group increased their price objective 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. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $67.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.