Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) Shares Sold by Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund trimmed its holdings in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 5.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 70,324 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 3,900 shares during the period. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $9,447,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 6.6% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,976,905 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $442,011,000 after acquiring an additional 183,716 shares in the last quarter. Vestal Point Capital LP bought a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies in the third quarter worth $14,848,000. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 29.8% in the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 30,978 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $4,592,000 after buying an additional 7,111 shares during the period. S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 12.7% in the fourth quarter. S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC now owns 42,587 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $5,721,000 after buying an additional 4,805 shares during the period. Finally, National Pension Service lifted its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 10.8% in the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 702,631 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $104,327,000 after buying an additional 68,670 shares during the period.

Agilent Technologies Trading Down 1.1 %

A stock opened at $135.33 on Monday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $140.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $139.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.62, a P/E/G ratio of 3.67 and a beta of 1.07. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $124.16 and a fifty-two week high of $155.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 2.09 and a quick ratio of 1.58.

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

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,911 shares of Agilent Technologies stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total value of $286,650.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 39,652 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,947,800. This trade represents a 4.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Citigroup upped their target price on Agilent Technologies to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Agilent Technologies from $157.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 9th. StockNews.com raised Agilent Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 24th. Bank of America lowered their target price on Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective 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. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $144.38.

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.