Cullinan Associates Inc. Makes New Investment in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Cullinan Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 7,000 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,019,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of A. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Agilent Technologies in the 4th quarter valued at $509,904,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 19.6% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 13,246,489 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,841,659,000 after buying an additional 2,170,219 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in Agilent Technologies by 233.7% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,666,416 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $370,552,000 after acquiring an additional 1,867,377 shares in the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. boosted its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 262.1% in the 4th quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 2,292,929 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $318,786,000 after acquiring an additional 1,659,768 shares during the period. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Agilent Technologies by 17.4% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 10,255,526 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,146,773,000 after acquiring an additional 1,519,134 shares in the last quarter.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of A opened at $125.78 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 2.15 and a quick ratio of 1.64. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $139.43 and its 200-day moving average is $138.43. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $96.80 and a 12-month high of $155.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $36.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.74, a P/E/G ratio of 4.40 and a beta of 1.05.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 29th. The medical research company reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $1.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.58 billion. Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 18.84% and a return on equity of 26.25%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.27 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 24th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 2nd will be given a $0.236 dividend. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.75%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 2nd. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.22%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $126.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Bank of America boosted their price target on Agilent Technologies from $134.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $145.00 to $135.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $163.00 to $151.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, TD Cowen cut their price target on Agilent Technologies from $163.00 to $153.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 30th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $137.13.

Insider Activity

In other Agilent Technologies news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,958 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.00, for a total transaction of $254,540.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 25,185 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,274,050. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Agilent Technologies news, SVP Dominique Grau sold 15,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.28, for a total value of $1,999,200.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 49,486 shares in the company, valued at $6,595,494.08. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,958 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.00, for a total value of $254,540.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 25,185 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,274,050. 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.