Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV Has $10.58 Million Stake in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV decreased its position in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 0.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 78,050 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 408 shares during the quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $10,579,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of A. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Agilent Technologies during the 4th quarter worth about $456,963,000. Madison Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Agilent Technologies during the 4th quarter worth about $94,051,000. Iron Triangle Partners LP acquired a new position in Agilent Technologies during the 4th quarter worth about $80,110,000. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 280.3% during the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 806,895 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $108,398,000 after buying an additional 594,744 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 12.3% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,192,790 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $563,259,000 after buying an additional 457,713 shares during the period.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have commented on A. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Agilent Technologies from $155.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on Agilent Technologies from $161.00 to $159.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 27th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Agilent Technologies to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Barclays cut their target price on Agilent Technologies from $138.00 to $115.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $116.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $143.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 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 value 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 $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 available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Rodney Gonsalves sold 1,908 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.98, for a total value of $232,737.84. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 21,786 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,657,456.28. This trade represents a 8.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

A stock opened at $111.49 on Thursday. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $96.43 and a 1-year high of $155.35. The firm has a market cap of $31.79 billion, a PE ratio of 25.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 1.27. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $110.78 and a 200-day moving average price of $128.45. The company has a current ratio of 2.20, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The medical research company reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.04. The business 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%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.54 earnings per share for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st were issued a $0.248 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.89%. Agilent Technologies’s payout ratio is currently 22.76%.

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.