Novem Group Invests $831,000 in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Novem Group purchased a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 6,187 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $831,000.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 9.6% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,231,981 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $434,184,000 after buying an additional 283,445 shares during the last quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC lifted its position in Agilent Technologies by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC now owns 345,791 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $46,454,000 after acquiring an additional 12,757 shares in the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP purchased a new stake in Agilent Technologies during the 4th quarter valued at $8,974,000. iSAM Funds UK Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies in the 4th quarter worth $441,000. Finally, Sone Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies during the fourth quarter valued at $6,066,000.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

NYSE:A opened at $108.83 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a current ratio of 2.20. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $109.98 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $127.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.03 billion, a PE ratio of 25.02, a P/E/G ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 1.27. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $96.43 and a 52-week high of $154.49.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The medical research company reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.67 billion. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 25.56% and a net margin of 19.27%. Analysts forecast that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.54 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Agilent Technologies

In other Agilent Technologies news, VP Rodney Gonsalves sold 1,908 shares of the firm’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 directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 35,737 shares in the company, valued at $4,161,931.02. The trade was a 4.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays reduced their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $138.00 to $115.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 10th. 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. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $116.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Agilent Technologies from $155.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. 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, Agilent Technologies currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $143.00.

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.