2Xideas AG Reduces Holdings in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

2Xideas AG lowered its position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 57.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 25,455 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 33,812 shares during the period. 2Xideas AG’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $3,420,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Unigestion Holding SA purchased a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $672,000. Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its position in Agilent Technologies by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 4,657 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $626,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co raised its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 53.3% in the 4th quarter. Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 23,000 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,090,000 after buying an additional 8,000 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 18.9% during the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 322,224 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $43,289,000 after purchasing an additional 51,144 shares during the period. Finally, Sit Investment Associates Inc. grew its stake in Agilent Technologies by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. Sit Investment Associates Inc. now owns 57,972 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $7,788,000 after buying an additional 3,755 shares during the period.

Agilent Technologies Stock Down 6.1 %

A opened at $102.97 on Friday. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $102.85 and a fifty-two week 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 has a market capitalization of $29.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 23.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.19. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $130.34 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $135.73.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The medical research company reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.04. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 25.56% and a net margin of 19.27%. The company had revenue of $1.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.67 billion. On average, analysts anticipate that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.57 EPS for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.248 per share. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is 22.76%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $157.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on Agilent Technologies from $161.00 to $159.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. 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 research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Agilent Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Agilent Technologies presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $150.83.

Insider Activity at Agilent Technologies

In related news, Director Daniel K. Podolsky sold 1,819 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.46, for a total transaction of $211,840.74. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 35,737 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,161,931.02. This represents a 4.84 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, 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 value of $286,650.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 39,652 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,947,800. This trade represents a 4.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 5,638 shares of company stock worth $731,229 over the last 90 days.

Agilent Technologies Company 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.