Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) is LGT Capital Partners LTD.’s 4th Largest Position

LGT Capital Partners LTD. grew its position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 17.4% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 1,346,234 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 199,532 shares during the period. Agilent Technologies makes up approximately 5.6% of LGT Capital Partners LTD.’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest position. LGT Capital Partners LTD.’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $187,167,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of A. BlackRock Inc. raised its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 1.1% during the 2nd quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 31,853,176 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,830,344,000 after buying an additional 349,651 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,531,170 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,246,209,000 after buying an additional 261,435 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 2.0% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,214,595 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,591,990,000 after acquiring an additional 253,729 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 0.4% in the third 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. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 17.4% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 10,255,526 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,146,773,000 after purchasing an additional 1,519,134 shares in the last quarter.

Agilent Technologies Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of Agilent Technologies stock opened at $145.46 on Friday. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $96.80 and a 52-week high of $151.58. 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 company has a market capitalization of $42.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.63, a P/E/G ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a 50 day moving average of $137.98 and a 200 day moving average of $126.28.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The medical research company reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 in the prior year, the company posted $1.37 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 24th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.236 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 1st. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.65%. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.38%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Oppenheimer lifted 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. Bank of America downgraded shares of Agilent Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $130.00 to $133.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 12th. 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. StockNews.com upgraded Agilent Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 19th. Finally, UBS Group boosted 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Agilent Technologies has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $138.29.

Insider Activity at Agilent Technologies

In related news, Director Heidi Fields sold 1,658 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the director now directly owns 54,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,935,235.84. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Agilent Technologies news, VP Rodney Gonsalves sold 4,828 shares of Agilent Technologies stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $149.00, for a total value of $719,372.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 21,329 shares in the company, valued at $3,178,021. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Heidi Fields sold 1,658 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.34, for a total transaction of $239,315.72. Following the sale, the director now owns 54,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,935,235.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 61,610 shares of company stock valued at $9,220,333 over the last ninety days.

Agilent Technologies Company 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.