NorthRock Partners LLC Has $590,000 Position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

NorthRock Partners LLC raised its holdings in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 151.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,394 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,648 shares during the quarter. NorthRock Partners LLC’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $590,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of A. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Agilent Technologies in the fourth quarter worth $456,963,000. Madison Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies in the 4th quarter valued at $94,051,000. Iron Triangle Partners LP acquired a new stake in Agilent Technologies during the 4th quarter worth $80,110,000. Marshall Wace LLP raised its stake in Agilent Technologies by 280.3% during the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 806,895 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $108,398,000 after buying an additional 594,744 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 12.3% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,192,790 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $563,259,000 after acquiring an additional 457,713 shares in the last quarter.

Agilent Technologies Price Performance

NYSE:A opened at $112.29 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.01 billion, a PE ratio of 25.81, a P/E/G ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 1.27. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $96.43 and a 1-year high of $155.35. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $110.59 and a 200 day simple moving average of $128.32. The company has a current ratio of 2.20, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. On average, research analysts expect that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st were given a $0.248 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.88%. Agilent Technologies’s payout ratio is 22.76%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Insider Transactions at Agilent Technologies

In related news, Director Daniel K. Podolsky sold 1,819 shares of the company’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 owns 35,737 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,161,931.02. This represents a 4.84% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Rodney Gonsalves sold 1,908 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $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.

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.