Smartleaf Asset Management LLC Boosts Stock Position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 9.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,722 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 325 shares during the quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $500,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Cantillon Capital Management LLC increased its position in Agilent Technologies by 0.5% during 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 in the last quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC boosted its stake in Agilent Technologies by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 15,924 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,139,000 after buying an additional 727 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Agilent Technologies in the 4th quarter worth about $665,000. Noesis Capital Mangement Corp boosted its stake in Agilent Technologies by 2.9% in the 4th quarter. Noesis Capital Mangement Corp now owns 118,689 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $15,945,000 after buying an additional 3,382 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SVB Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Agilent Technologies in the 4th quarter worth about $7,508,000.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

Agilent Technologies stock opened at $126.36 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $140.48 and its 200 day moving average price is $139.08. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.05 billion, a PE ratio of 29.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.59 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a current ratio of 2.20. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a one year low of $124.16 and a one year high of $155.35.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last released its quarterly 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 analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 25.56% and a net margin of 19.27%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be given a dividend of $0.248 per share. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.79%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.76%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Agilent Technologies news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,911 shares of Agilent Technologies stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total transaction of $286,650.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 39,652 shares in the company, valued at $5,947,800. The trade was a 4.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on Agilent Technologies from $161.00 to $159.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price target on Agilent Technologies from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. StockNews.com raised Agilent Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th. Citigroup raised their price target on Agilent Technologies to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Agilent Technologies has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $146.15.

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.