Legal & General Group Plc Trims Holdings in Agilent Technologies, Inc. $A

Legal & General Group Plc cut its stake in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 2.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,141,141 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 48,498 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc owned about 0.76% of Agilent Technologies worth $291,345,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Board of the Pension Protection Fund purchased a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Navalign LLC purchased a new position in Agilent Technologies during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Entrust Financial LLC purchased a new position in Agilent Technologies during the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its position in Agilent Technologies by 490.0% during the third quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 236 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 196 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Torren Management LLC purchased a new position in Agilent Technologies during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. 87.41% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Agilent Technologies Price Performance

Agilent Technologies stock opened at $115.30 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.59, a current ratio of 2.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $114.91 and a 200 day simple moving average of $129.01. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $108.35 and a 52 week high of $160.27. The stock has a market cap of $32.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.45, a PEG ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 1.22.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 25th. The medical research company reported $1.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.37 by ($0.01). Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 24.49% and a net margin of 18.26%.The firm had revenue of $1.80 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.81 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.31 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.95 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, June 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.255 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, June 30th. This represents a $1.02 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Agilent Technologies’s payout ratio is 22.52%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wall Street Zen cut Agilent Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 9th. TD Cowen reduced their target price on Agilent Technologies from $170.00 to $157.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Agilent Technologies from $180.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. UBS Group reduced their target price on Agilent Technologies from $180.00 to $165.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Agilent Technologies from $175.00 to $165.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Agilent Technologies currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $163.07.

Agilent Technologies Profile

Agilent Technologies is a global provider of scientific instrumentation, consumables, software and services for laboratories across the life sciences, diagnostics and applied chemical markets. The company’s product portfolio includes analytical instruments such as liquid and gas chromatographs, mass spectrometers, spectroscopy systems, and laboratory automation solutions, together with reagents, supplies and informatics tools that support measurement, testing and data analysis workflows. Agilent also offers instrument maintenance, qualification and laboratory services designed to help customers improve productivity and comply with regulatory requirements.

Founded as a corporate spin-off from Hewlett‑Packard in 1999, Agilent has evolved through a combination of strategic restructuring and acquisitions to concentrate on life sciences, diagnostics and applied laboratories.