Russell Investments Group Ltd. Has $43.87 Million Stake in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A – Get Rating) by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 360,532 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,557 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $43,865,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of A. Penserra Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $60,000. Avondale Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $61,000. WFA of San Diego LLC acquired a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $62,000. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 27.2% in the 3rd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 571 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $69,000 after buying an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Clear Street Markets LLC raised its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 408.1% in the 2nd quarter. Clear Street Markets LLC now owns 625 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $74,000 after buying an additional 502 shares in the last quarter.

Agilent Technologies Trading Down 2.1 %

A opened at $155.69 on Wednesday. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $112.52 and a fifty-two week high of $160.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a current ratio of 2.03 and a quick ratio of 1.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.34, a PEG ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 1.07. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $152.37 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $138.42.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 21st. The medical research company reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by $0.14. Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 18.31% and a return on equity of 30.28%. The company had revenue of $1.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.76 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.21 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Agilent Technologies declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Monday, January 9th that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the medical research company to reacquire up to 4.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Agilent Technologies Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 25th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, January 3rd will be paid a $0.225 dividend. This is a positive change from Agilent Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.21. This represents a $0.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.58%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 30th. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.58%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Michael R. Mcmullen sold 128,726 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.73, for a total value of $20,046,499.98. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 260,691 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $40,597,409.43. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CEO Michael R. Mcmullen sold 128,726 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $155.73, for a total transaction of $20,046,499.98. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 260,691 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,597,409.43. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Padraig Mcdonnell sold 672 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $160.00, for a total transaction of $107,520.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 15,529 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,484,640. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 209,039 shares of company stock valued at $32,268,881.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 22nd. SVB Leerink lifted their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $160.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company raised shares of Agilent Technologies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $150.00 to $170.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 10th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $152.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 20th. Finally, Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $160.00 to $168.00 in a report on Tuesday, November 22nd. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $161.36.

Agilent Technologies Company Profile

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Agilent Technologies, Inc provides application focused solutions to the life sciences, diagnostics, and applied chemical markets worldwide. 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; vacuum pumps, and measurement technologies.