APG Asset Management N.V. Grows Stock Position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

APG Asset Management N.V. grew its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 1,010.8% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 174,858 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 159,117 shares during the quarter. APG Asset Management N.V.’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $22,685,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. CKW Financial Group increased its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 114.9% in the 4th quarter. CKW Financial Group now owns 187 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. increased its holdings 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 stake in Agilent Technologies in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management increased its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 66.5% in the 4th quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management now owns 263 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in Agilent Technologies in the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,911 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total value 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. This represents a 4.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Rodney Gonsalves sold 1,908 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.98, for a total value of $232,737.84. Following the completion of 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. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 5,638 shares of company stock valued at $731,229.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on A shares. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Barclays raised shares of Agilent Technologies from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $135.00 to $145.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of 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 cut their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Agilent Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $150.83.

Agilent Technologies Stock Up 7.8 %

Agilent Technologies stock opened at $107.02 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $30.51 billion, a PE ratio of 24.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 1.19. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $96.43 and a 12 month high of $155.35. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $125.62 and a 200-day simple moving average of $134.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 2.20 and a quick ratio of 1.66.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The medical research company reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.04. The company 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%. On average, analysts anticipate that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.248 per share. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.93%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. Agilent Technologies’s payout ratio is 22.76%.

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.