Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. Trims Position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. decreased its holdings in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 17.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 22,116 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 4,663 shares during the quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A.’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $2,973,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Sienna Gestion lifted its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 29.8% in the 4th quarter. Sienna Gestion now owns 78,445 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $10,537,000 after purchasing an additional 17,991 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in Agilent Technologies by 8.5% during the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 33,898 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $4,554,000 after buying an additional 2,664 shares during the period. S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 12.7% during the 4th quarter. S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC now owns 42,587 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $5,721,000 after buying an additional 4,805 shares in the last quarter. Prudential PLC grew its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 16.0% in the 4th quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 73,273 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $9,843,000 after buying an additional 10,128 shares during the period. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 9.8% in the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 43,862 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $5,892,000 after acquiring an additional 3,915 shares in the last quarter.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A has been the topic of several research reports. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $116.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 21st. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Agilent Technologies to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $161.00 to $159.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Agilent Technologies from $155.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on Agilent Technologies from $138.00 to $115.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Agilent Technologies currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $143.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Agilent Technologies

In other news, Director Daniel K. Podolsky sold 1,819 shares of Agilent Technologies stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.46, for a total transaction of $211,840.74. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 35,737 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,161,931.02. The trade was a 4.84 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Rodney Gonsalves sold 1,908 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.98, for a total value of $232,737.84. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 21,786 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,657,456.28. This trade represents a 8.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of A stock opened at $106.31 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 2.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $116.40 and a 200-day moving average price of $131.00. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $96.43 and a 52 week high of $155.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.31 billion, a PE ratio of 24.44, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 1.19.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last posted its 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 business had revenue of $1.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 19.27% and a return on equity of 25.56%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st were given a $0.248 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.93%. Agilent Technologies’s payout ratio is 22.76%.

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.