Cinctive Capital Management LP Purchases New Holdings in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Cinctive Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 96,302 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,937,000.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. CKW Financial Group grew its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 114.9% in the fourth quarter. CKW Financial Group now owns 187 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Agilent Technologies by 161.1% in the 4th quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 188 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management raised its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 66.5% during the fourth quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management now owns 263 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in Agilent Technologies in the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000.

Insider Transactions at Agilent Technologies

In related news, VP Rodney Gonsalves sold 1,908 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.98, for a total transaction of $232,737.84. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 21,786 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,657,456.28. This represents a 8.05 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,911 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 39,652 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,947,800. This represents a 4.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A has been the subject of several research reports. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Agilent Technologies from $161.00 to $159.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target 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. Citigroup raised their price objective on Agilent Technologies to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Barclays raised shares of Agilent Technologies from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $135.00 to $145.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Agilent Technologies has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $150.83.

Agilent Technologies Stock Down 2.8 %

Shares of A opened at $113.67 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 2.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $113.36 and a 52-week high of $155.35. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $132.90 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $136.32. The company has a market capitalization of $32.41 billion, a PE ratio of 26.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 1.19.

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

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.248 per share. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.76%.

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.