Bessemer Group Inc. Trims Position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Bessemer Group Inc. lowered its position in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 8.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 893,891 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 81,994 shares during the quarter. Bessemer Group Inc.’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $104,569,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Redwood Park Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new position in Agilent Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC lifted its position in Agilent Technologies by 286.2% during the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 251 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 186 shares during the period. Sunbelt Securities Inc. boosted its stake in Agilent Technologies by 640.0% in the 4th quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 222 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 192 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Opal Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Agilent Technologies in the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000.

Agilent Technologies Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of A opened at $118.80 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 2.09 and a quick ratio of 1.60. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $96.43 and a 12 month high of $153.84. The stock has a market cap of $33.75 billion, a PE ratio of 29.33, a P/E/G ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 1.23. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $111.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $124.24.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The medical research company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.26 by $0.05. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 25.92% and a net margin of 17.59%. The firm had revenue of $1.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.63 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.22 EPS. Agilent Technologies’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 23rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 1st will be paid a $0.248 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 1st. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.84%. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 24.44%.

Insider Activity at Agilent Technologies

In related news, Director Daniel K. Podolsky sold 1,819 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.46, for a total value of $211,840.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 35,737 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,161,931.02. This represents a 4.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $116.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $159.00 to $140.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Leerink Partners increased their target price on Agilent Technologies to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Agilent Technologies from $160.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Agilent Technologies from $155.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $140.92.

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.