Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Has $3.82 Million Stock Holdings in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 5.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 28,456 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 1,343 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $3,823,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 3.5% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 15,589,874 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,314,784,000 after buying an additional 525,214 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in Agilent Technologies by 62.2% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,287,665 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $191,193,000 after acquiring an additional 493,947 shares during the last quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Agilent Technologies during the 3rd quarter worth $49,449,000. Marshall Wace LLP increased its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 48.6% in the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC boosted its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 63.3% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 586,439 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $87,075,000 after purchasing an additional 227,431 shares in the last quarter.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of A opened at $152.61 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 2.09 and a quick ratio of 1.58. The firm has a market cap of $43.59 billion, a PE ratio of 34.53, a PEG ratio of 3.98 and a beta of 1.06. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $124.16 and a 1 year high of $155.35. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $136.76 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $137.50.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last issued its earnings results on Monday, November 25th. The medical research company reported $1.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.05. Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 19.80% and a return on equity of 25.43%. The business had revenue of $1.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.67 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.38 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.56 EPS for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.40%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on A. StockNews.com upgraded Agilent Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $157.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $145.00 to $135.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $143.62.

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.