OFI Invest Asset Management Buys Shares of 287 Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 287 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in A. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 15,589,874 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,314,784,000 after buying an additional 525,214 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,819,897 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,903,498,000 after buying an additional 158,175 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,948,679 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,028,241,000 after buying an additional 30,610 shares in the last quarter. Cantillon Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Cantillon Capital Management LLC now owns 3,316,557 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $445,546,000 after buying an additional 17,627 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 8.7% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,235,263 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $434,625,000 after buying an additional 258,358 shares in the last quarter. 87.42% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Agilent Technologies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:A opened at $122.02 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $139.42 and its 200-day moving average price is $138.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.05, a PEG ratio of 3.56 and a beta of 1.11. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a one year low of $121.45 and a one year high of $155.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 2.20 and a quick ratio of 1.66.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The medical research company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 19.27% and a return on equity of 25.56%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be issued a $0.248 dividend. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. Agilent Technologies’s payout ratio is 22.76%.

Insider Transactions at Agilent Technologies

In other news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,911 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total value of $286,650.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 39,652 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,947,800. This represents a 4.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts recently commented on A shares. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target 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 upgraded shares of Agilent Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $161.00 to $159.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $146.15.

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.