Nuance Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A – Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 71,070 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,314,000.
A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in Agilent Technologies by 6.1% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,663 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $626,000 after buying an additional 270 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Agilent Technologies in the 4th quarter valued at $48,172,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Agilent Technologies by 51.9% in the 4th quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 17,097 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,297,000 after buying an additional 5,841 shares during the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC boosted its position in Agilent Technologies by 33.5% in the 4th quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 2,593 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $348,000 after buying an additional 651 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Agilent Technologies in the 4th quarter valued at $247,000.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
Several brokerages recently commented on A. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective 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. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Agilent Technologies to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Wall Street Zen raised Agilent Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 28th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $116.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $159.00 to $140.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $139.77.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,508 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.44, for a total value of $177,099.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 37,448 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,397,893.12. This represents a 3.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.
Agilent Technologies Price Performance
Agilent Technologies stock opened at $114.22 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.09, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The company has a market capitalization of $32.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.20, a PEG ratio of 3.48 and a beta of 1.22. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $117.46 and its 200-day moving average is $118.94. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $96.43 and a 12 month high of $153.84.
Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A – Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The medical research company reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.26 by $0.05. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 25.92% and a net margin of 17.59%. The business had revenue of $1.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.63 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.22 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.58 EPS for the current year.
Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 23rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 1st were paid a dividend of $0.248 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 1st. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.44%.
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.
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