International Assets Investment Management LLC Takes Position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 87,289 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,961,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Agilent Technologies by 2.8% in the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 25,107 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $3,653,000 after acquiring an additional 695 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. increased its stake in Agilent Technologies by 0.8% in the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 711,895 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $103,588,000 after acquiring an additional 5,716 shares during the last quarter. Norden Group LLC bought a new position in Agilent Technologies in the first quarter valued at approximately $342,000. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. increased its stake in Agilent Technologies by 16.0% in the first quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 6,438 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $937,000 after acquiring an additional 888 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Maryland State Retirement & Pension System increased its stake in Agilent Technologies by 1.7% in the first quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 22,932 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $3,064,000 after acquiring an additional 382 shares during the last quarter. 87.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $141.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. 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 on the stock. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $140.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $144.36.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

NYSE A opened at $131.51 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $37.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.28, a PEG ratio of 6.96 and a beta of 1.05. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $100.26 and a twelve month high of $155.35. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $140.01 and a 200 day simple moving average of $138.12. The company has a quick ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 21st. The medical research company reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.26 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.56 billion. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 25.26% and a net margin of 21.75%. Agilent Technologies’s quarterly revenue was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.43 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.24 EPS for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 23rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st were given a dividend of $0.236 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 1st. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.72%. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Agilent Technologies

In other Agilent Technologies news, SVP Dominique Grau sold 9,990 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.00, for a total transaction of $1,448,550.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 40,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,801,595. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Agilent Technologies news, SVP Dominique Grau sold 9,990 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.00, for a total transaction of $1,448,550.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 40,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,801,595. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,958 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.00, for a total transaction of $283,910.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 24,118 shares in the company, valued at $3,497,110. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 11,995 shares of company stock valued at $1,739,510. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Agilent Technologies 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.