184,780 Shares in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) Purchased by Junto Capital Management LP

Junto Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm purchased 184,780 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,823,000. Junto Capital Management LP owned about 0.06% of Agilent Technologies as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in A. Humankind Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 14.7% during the 4th quarter. Humankind Investments LLC now owns 1,827 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $245,000 after buying an additional 234 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth lifted its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 101,225 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $13,732,000 after purchasing an additional 444 shares in the last quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc boosted its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 370.0% in the fourth quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 124,575 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $16,735,000 after purchasing an additional 98,068 shares during the period. FORA Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies in the fourth quarter worth $835,000. Finally, D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. raised its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 183.7% during the 4th quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 38,203 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $5,132,000 after purchasing an additional 24,739 shares during the period.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Agilent Technologies Trading Down 1.6 %

Shares of Agilent Technologies stock opened at $106.93 on Friday. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $96.43 and a twelve month high of $155.35. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $111.53 and its 200 day moving average price is $128.77. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $30.49 billion, a PE ratio of 24.58, a P/E/G ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 1.27.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The medical research company reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.04. Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 19.27% and a return on equity of 25.56%. The firm had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 1st were issued a $0.248 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.93%. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.76%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Agilent Technologies

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

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.