Quantbot Technologies LP Makes New Investment in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund bought 15,169 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,038,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. increased its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 5.6% during the fourth quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. now owns 338,019 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $45,409,000 after buying an additional 18,038 shares during the period. Magnetar Financial LLC grew its stake in Agilent Technologies by 13.3% in the fourth quarter. Magnetar Financial LLC now owns 35,724 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $4,799,000 after purchasing an additional 4,197 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas grew its stake in Agilent Technologies by 56.9% in the fourth quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 237,772 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $31,942,000 after purchasing an additional 86,226 shares during the period. Finally, Vinva Investment Management Ltd grew its stake in Agilent Technologies by 6.5% in the fourth quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd now owns 14,331 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,926,000 after purchasing an additional 878 shares during the period.

Agilent Technologies Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:A opened at $120.72 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $34.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.75, a PEG ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 2.20 and a quick ratio of 1.66. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $117.17 and a 1 year high of $155.35. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $136.74 and its 200-day moving average price is $137.28.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 25.56% and a net margin of 19.27%. Sell-side analysts expect that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be issued a $0.248 dividend. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is 22.76%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A has been the topic of several recent research reports. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on Agilent Technologies from $161.00 to $159.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. StockNews.com raised Agilent Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price target on Agilent Technologies from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Bank of America reduced their price target on Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Barclays raised Agilent Technologies from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $135.00 to $145.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Agilent Technologies presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $146.15.

Insider Buying and Selling at Agilent Technologies

In other Agilent Technologies news, VP Rodney Gonsalves sold 1,908 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 21,786 shares in the company, valued at $2,657,456.28. This represents a 8.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,911 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was 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 owns 39,652 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,947,800. The trade was a 4.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

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.