Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC Has $1.24 Million Stock Holdings in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC raised its stake in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 8.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,209 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 696 shares during the period. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $1,237,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. denkapparat Operations GmbH bought a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies during the fourth quarter worth about $284,000. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 5,213,739 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $700,414,000 after acquiring an additional 47,495 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Agilent Technologies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $456,963,000. Blair William & Co. IL increased its position in Agilent Technologies by 62.6% in the 4th quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 34,607 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $4,649,000 after acquiring an additional 13,330 shares during the period. Finally, Loomis Sayles & Co. L P raised its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 1,751.0% during the fourth quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 5,590 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $751,000 after acquiring an additional 5,288 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.42% of the company’s stock.

Agilent Technologies Price Performance

A stock opened at $102.97 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 2.20 and a quick ratio of 1.66. The company’s 50-day moving average is $130.34 and its 200-day moving average is $135.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.36 billion, a PE ratio of 23.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 1.19. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $102.85 and a 1 year high of $155.35.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The medical research company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.04. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 25.56% and a net margin of 19.27%. The firm had revenue of $1.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.67 billion. Equities research analysts expect that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be paid a $0.248 dividend. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.76%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $157.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 9th. StockNews.com raised Agilent Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th. Bank of America cut their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Barclays raised shares of Agilent Technologies from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $135.00 to $145.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $150.83.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Rodney Gonsalves sold 1,908 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.98, for a total value of $232,737.84. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 21,786 shares in the company, valued at $2,657,456.28. This represents a 8.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,911 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total transaction of $286,650.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 39,652 shares in the company, valued at $5,947,800. The trade was a 4.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 5,638 shares of company stock worth $731,229 over the last three months. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Agilent Technologies

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.