Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC Makes New $121,000 Investment in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Paradigm Asset Management Co. LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 900 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $121,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. CKW Financial Group raised its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 114.9% during the 4th quarter. CKW Financial Group now owns 187 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of 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 valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies during the third quarter worth $31,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC raised its stake in Agilent Technologies by 68.3% during the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 234 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Finally, RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Agilent Technologies in the third quarter valued at $38,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.42% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Agilent Technologies

In other Agilent Technologies news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,911 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total value of $286,650.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 39,652 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,947,800. This represents a 4.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have weighed in on A. Bank of America decreased their price target on Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 13th. StockNews.com upgraded Agilent Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. Citigroup increased their price target on Agilent Technologies to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $157.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $144.38.

Agilent Technologies Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE A opened at $135.33 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 2.09 and a quick ratio of 1.58. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $140.97 and a 200-day moving average price of $139.29. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.62, a P/E/G ratio of 3.71 and a beta of 1.07. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $124.16 and a 1 year high of $155.35.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 25th. The medical research company reported $1.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $1.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 25.43% and a net margin of 19.80%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.38 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be given a $0.248 dividend. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. Agilent Technologies’s payout ratio is currently 22.40%.

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.