Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Acquires 6,076 Shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 16.7% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 42,486 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,076 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $6,309,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Crewe Advisors LLC lifted its position in Agilent Technologies by 114.8% in the 2nd quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 189 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Livelsberger Financial Advisory bought a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC purchased a new position in Agilent Technologies in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new position in Agilent Technologies in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 68.3% during the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 234 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares in the last quarter.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Dominique Grau sold 9,990 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.00, for a total value of $1,448,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 40,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,801,595. This represents a 19.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Agilent Technologies Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of Agilent Technologies stock opened at $134.50 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $38.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.90, a PEG ratio of 5.89 and a beta of 1.07. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $124.10 and a 52-week high of $155.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $137.82 and its 200-day moving average price is $137.54.

Agilent Technologies Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a $0.248 dividend. This is a boost from Agilent Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. Agilent Technologies’s payout ratio is currently 19.50%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on shares of Agilent Technologies in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $157.00 target price for the company. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $151.00 price target on shares of Agilent Technologies in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $141.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $144.36.

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.