NFJ Investment Group LLC Has $19.31 Million Holdings in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

NFJ Investment Group LLC cut its stake in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 1.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 143,773 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 2,767 shares during the period. NFJ Investment Group LLC’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $19,314,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Guggenheim Capital LLC grew its position in Agilent Technologies by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 9,804 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,317,000 after buying an additional 332 shares in the last quarter. Rossby Financial LCC bought a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $228,000. Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super acquired a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at $16,064,000. Canada Post Corp Registered Pension Plan acquired a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at $5,092,000. Finally, Synovus Financial Corp lifted its position in Agilent Technologies by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 1,934 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $260,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the period.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

Agilent Technologies stock opened at $103.06 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $122.01 and a 200 day simple moving average of $133.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $29.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.69, a P/E/G ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a quick ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 2.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $96.43 and a 12-month high of $155.35.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The medical research company reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) 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 net margin of 19.27% and a return on equity of 25.56%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be paid a $0.248 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.96%. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.76%.

Insider Transactions at Agilent Technologies

In other Agilent Technologies news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,911 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 39,652 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,947,800. This trade represents a 4.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Daniel K. Podolsky sold 1,819 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.46, for a total transaction of $211,840.74. Following the sale, the director now owns 35,737 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,161,931.02. The trade was a 4.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 5,638 shares of company stock worth $731,229 over the last 90 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $138.00 to $115.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Citigroup increased 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. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. StockNews.com upgraded Agilent Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their target price 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. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $146.25.

Agilent Technologies 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.