Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. Raises Stock Position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 21.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 352,513 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 63,107 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned about 0.12% of Agilent Technologies worth $51,294,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies during the 4th quarter valued at about $509,904,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 19.6% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 13,246,489 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,841,659,000 after acquiring an additional 2,170,219 shares during the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. grew its position in Agilent Technologies by 262.1% in the fourth quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 2,292,929 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $318,786,000 after acquiring an additional 1,659,768 shares during the period. Meritage Group LP grew its position in Agilent Technologies by 28.3% in the fourth quarter. Meritage Group LP now owns 2,116,862 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $294,307,000 after acquiring an additional 467,451 shares during the period. Finally, Oribel Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at $60,186,000.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on Agilent Technologies from $147.00 to $136.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Citigroup raised Agilent Technologies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $135.00 to $150.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 10th. TD Cowen reduced their target price on Agilent Technologies from $163.00 to $153.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Agilent Technologies from $165.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price target on Agilent Technologies from $67.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Agilent Technologies has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $138.06.

Agilent Technologies Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of A traded down $0.99 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $130.98. The company had a trading volume of 543,819 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,768,079. The company has a quick ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 2.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The firm has a market cap of $38.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.00, a P/E/G ratio of 4.53 and a beta of 1.05. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $96.80 and a 52-week high of $155.35. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $136.75 and its 200 day moving average price is $137.55.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 29th. The medical research company reported $1.22 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.03. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 26.25% and a net margin of 18.84%. The firm had revenue of $1.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.58 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.27 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.25 EPS for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 24th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.236 per share. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 2nd. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.22%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,958 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.00, for a total transaction of $254,540.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 25,185 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,274,050. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Dominique Grau sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.28, for a total transaction of $1,999,200.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 49,486 shares in the company, valued at $6,595,494.08. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,958 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.00, for a total transaction of $254,540.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 25,185 shares in the company, valued at $3,274,050. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

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.