Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC Acquires New Stake in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC bought a new position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm bought 900 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $121,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. AMF Tjanstepension AB bought a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies in the third quarter valued at approximately $2,726,000. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI purchased a new position in Agilent Technologies in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $271,000. McAdam LLC grew its stake in Agilent Technologies by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. McAdam LLC now owns 2,531 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $376,000 after buying an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Agilent Technologies during the 3rd quarter valued at $12,961,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 173.6% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 27,113 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $4,026,000 after acquiring an additional 17,203 shares in the last quarter. 87.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Agilent Technologies

In other Agilent Technologies news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,911 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total transaction of $286,650.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 39,652 shares in the company, valued at $5,947,800. This represents a 4.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

Agilent Technologies stock opened at $135.33 on Friday. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $124.16 and a fifty-two week high of $155.35. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $140.97 and its 200-day moving average price is $139.29. The stock has a market cap of $38.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.71 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a current ratio of 2.09.

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

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be paid a $0.248 dividend. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.73%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.40%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on A. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Agilent Technologies from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. StockNews.com raised Agilent Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. Barclays raised shares of Agilent Technologies from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $135.00 to $145.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $157.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $144.38.

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.