Prudential Financial Inc. Has $28.48 Million Stock Holdings in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Prudential Financial Inc. decreased its stake in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 18.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 211,969 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 49,062 shares during the quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. owned 0.07% of Agilent Technologies worth $28,476,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Advisors Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Agilent Technologies by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 9,372 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,392,000 after purchasing an additional 457 shares in the last quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies during the third quarter valued at $205,000. Cerity Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 15.3% during the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 49,696 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $7,379,000 after buying an additional 6,588 shares in the last quarter. Algert Global LLC acquired a new position in Agilent Technologies during the third quarter valued at $487,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in Agilent Technologies by 33.0% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 4,088 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $607,000 after acquiring an additional 1,014 shares in the last quarter.

Insider Activity at Agilent Technologies

In other Agilent Technologies news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,911 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were 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 $5,947,800. This represents a 4.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Rodney Gonsalves sold 1,908 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.98, for a total transaction of $232,737.84. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 21,786 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,657,456.28. The trade was a 8.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on A shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $161.00 to $159.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. StockNews.com upgraded Agilent Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th. Finally, Bank of America cut their price target on Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Agilent Technologies currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $146.15.

Agilent Technologies Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of Agilent Technologies stock opened at $120.35 on Wednesday. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $117.17 and a 12-month high of $155.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 2.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $135.88 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $137.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $34.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.67, a PEG ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 1.11.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The medical research company reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $1.68 billion during 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%. Equities analysts expect that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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. 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 dividend payout ratio is presently 22.76%.

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.