Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Invests $1.67 Million in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 12,031 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,673,000.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Carmel Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Carmel Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,709 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $933,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Monumental Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Monumental Financial Group Inc. now owns 9,493 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,320,000 after purchasing an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Kepos Capital LP grew its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Kepos Capital LP now owns 2,775 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $310,000 after buying an additional 93 shares during the period. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton raised its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 51.1% during the fourth quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 284 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. Finally, Balentine LLC lifted its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 3.4% in the third quarter. Balentine LLC now owns 3,180 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $356,000 after buying an additional 104 shares in the last quarter.

Agilent Technologies Trading Up 0.5 %

NYSE A opened at $141.27 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $142.43 and its 200 day moving average is $132.24. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $41.40 billion, a PE ratio of 33.64, a P/E/G ratio of 4.22 and a beta of 1.13. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $96.80 and a twelve month high of $151.58.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The medical research company reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.22 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $1.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.59 billion. Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 18.35% and a return on equity of 27.09%. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.37 EPS. Agilent Technologies’s quarterly revenue was down 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 24th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 2nd were paid a $0.236 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, April 1st. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.67%. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.38%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on A shares. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. 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, March 26th. UBS Group raised their price target on Agilent Technologies from $130.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Agilent Technologies from $132.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised shares of Agilent Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $145.00 to $163.00 in a report on Friday, April 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $141.29.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Philip Binns sold 2,827 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.54, for a total value of $417,095.58. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,997 shares in the company, valued at $1,474,957.38. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Philip Binns sold 2,827 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.54, for a total transaction of $417,095.58. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 9,997 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,474,957.38. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Heidi Fields sold 1,658 shares of Agilent Technologies 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 54,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,935,235.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 61,610 shares of company stock valued at $9,220,333 in the last ninety days.

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.