Handelsbanken Fonder AB Has $18.03 Million Stock Holdings in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB cut its stake in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 8.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 129,669 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 12,121 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $18,028,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. MV Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Agilent Technologies by 120.7% during the fourth quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. now owns 192 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in Agilent Technologies during the third quarter worth $25,000. Baystate Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Agilent Technologies by 107.3% during the fourth quarter. Baystate Wealth Management LLC now owns 257 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Agilent Technologies during the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton increased its position in Agilent Technologies by 51.1% during the fourth quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 284 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the last quarter.

Agilent Technologies Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of A opened at $133.91 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $39.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.88, a P/E/G ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a quick ratio of 2.04, a current ratio of 2.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $96.80 and a 12 month high of $151.58. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $141.21 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $130.08.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The medical research company reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.22 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $1.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.59 billion. Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 18.35% and a return on equity of 27.09%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.37 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 24th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.236 per share. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 1st. Agilent Technologies’s payout ratio is 22.38%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on A shares. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $130.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $67.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upgraded shares of Agilent Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $145.00 to $163.00 in a report on Friday, April 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $141.29.

Insider Transactions at Agilent Technologies

In other news, CEO Michael R. Mcmullen sold 52,297 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total transaction of $7,844,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 253,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $38,086,350. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, Director Heidi Fields sold 1,658 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.34, for a total value of $239,315.72. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 54,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,935,235.84. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael R. Mcmullen sold 52,297 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total transaction of $7,844,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 253,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $38,086,350. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 61,610 shares of company stock valued at $9,220,333.

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.