Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) Stock Position Decreased by MetLife Investment Management LLC

MetLife Investment Management LLC decreased its position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 75,882 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 2,278 shares during the quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $11,267,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 5.7% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 15,064,660 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,952,832,000 after buying an additional 809,149 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 62.2% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,287,665 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $191,193,000 after acquiring an additional 493,947 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its position in Agilent Technologies by 48.6% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 957,128 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $124,073,000 after purchasing an additional 313,155 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 63.3% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 586,439 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $87,075,000 after buying an additional 227,431 shares during the period. Finally, Impax Asset Management Group plc boosted its stake in Agilent Technologies by 8.2% during the 3rd quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 2,667,616 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $396,088,000 after purchasing an additional 203,234 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.42% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Agilent Technologies

In other news, SVP Dominique Grau sold 9,990 shares of Agilent Technologies stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.00, for a total transaction of $1,448,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 40,011 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,801,595. The trade was a 19.98 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of Agilent Technologies in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $157.00 target price for the company. StockNews.com cut Agilent Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Citigroup boosted their target price on Agilent Technologies from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $145.00 to $135.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $141.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $143.40.

Agilent Technologies Stock Up 2.8 %

Shares of Agilent Technologies stock opened at $138.14 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $39.69 billion, a PE ratio of 28.66, a P/E/G ratio of 5.91 and a beta of 1.07. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $137.65 and its 200 day simple moving average is $137.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a current ratio of 1.78. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $124.10 and a 52-week high of $155.35.

Agilent Technologies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a $0.248 dividend. This is a positive change from Agilent Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. Agilent Technologies’s payout ratio is presently 20.54%.

Agilent Technologies Company 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.