Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) Shares Purchased by Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ

Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ boosted its holdings in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 56.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 88,695 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 32,012 shares during the quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $11,922,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in Agilent Technologies by 3.5% in the 3rd 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 purchasing an additional 525,214 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Agilent Technologies by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,819,897 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,903,498,000 after purchasing an additional 158,175 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Agilent Technologies by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,948,679 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,028,241,000 after purchasing an additional 30,610 shares during the period. Cantillon Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Agilent Technologies by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Cantillon Capital Management LLC now owns 3,316,557 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $445,546,000 after purchasing an additional 17,627 shares during the period. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in Agilent Technologies by 8.7% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,235,263 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $434,625,000 after purchasing an additional 258,358 shares during the period.

Insider Transactions at Agilent Technologies

In other news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,911 shares of the business’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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 39,652 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,947,800. The trade was a 4.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of A opened at $121.53 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $34.65 billion, a PE ratio of 27.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 1.11. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a one year low of $117.17 and a one year high of $155.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 2.20 and a quick ratio of 1.66. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $138.26 and its 200 day moving average price is $138.00.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The medical research company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 19.27% and a return on equity of 25.56%. As a group, analysts expect that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.248 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.82%. Agilent Technologies’s payout ratio is 22.76%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on A shares. Barclays raised shares of Agilent Technologies from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $135.00 to $145.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Bank of America decreased their target price 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. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Seven 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, Agilent Technologies currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $146.15.

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.