Perbak Capital Partners LLP Acquires New Stake in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Perbak Capital Partners LLP purchased a new position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 8,725 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,172,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. CKW Financial Group increased its position in Agilent Technologies by 114.9% during the fourth quarter. CKW Financial Group now owns 187 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. increased its position in Agilent Technologies by 161.1% during the fourth quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 188 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Redwood Park Advisors LLC bought a new position in Agilent Technologies during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new position in Agilent Technologies during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Hanson & Doremus Investment Management increased its position in Agilent Technologies by 66.5% during the fourth quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management now owns 263 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the last quarter.

Agilent Technologies Trading Up 0.7 %

NYSE:A opened at $106.99 on Tuesday. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $96.43 and a 12 month high of $155.35. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $115.80 and a 200-day simple moving average of $130.66. The company has a current ratio of 2.20, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The company has a market capitalization of $30.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.60, a PEG 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.04. The company 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%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on A shares. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $155.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of 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. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target 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 increased their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $161.00 to $159.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $143.00.

Insider Transactions at Agilent Technologies

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

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.