State of Michigan Retirement System Sells 2,500 Shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

State of Michigan Retirement System decreased its stake in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 3.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 80,881 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 2,500 shares during the period. State of Michigan Retirement System’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $10,866,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its stake in Agilent Technologies by 16.5% in the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 7,069 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $950,000 after buying an additional 1,003 shares in the last quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 6.5% in the 4th quarter. Mission Wealth Management LP now owns 26,819 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,603,000 after acquiring an additional 1,644 shares during the last quarter. LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 76.0% in the 4th quarter. LGT Fund Management Co Ltd. now owns 2,640 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $355,000 after purchasing an additional 1,140 shares in the last quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 9.2% during the 4th quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 5,238 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $706,000 after purchasing an additional 443 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Agilent Technologies in the 4th quarter worth $193,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.42% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,911 shares of Agilent Technologies stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total transaction of $286,650.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 39,652 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,947,800. This trade represents a 4.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.26% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Agilent Technologies Trading Up 2.9 %

NYSE:A opened at $126.64 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $140.03 and a 200-day moving average price of $138.87. The stock has a market cap of $36.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.11, a P/E/G ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 1.11. 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, Inc. has a 12 month low of $121.45 and a 12 month high of $155.35.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The medical research company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.04. Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 19.27% and a return on equity of 25.56%. The business had revenue of $1.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. Equities analysts predict that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.57 EPS for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be paid a $0.248 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.78%. Agilent Technologies’s payout ratio is 22.76%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on A shares. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their target price on Agilent Technologies from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Agilent Technologies from $157.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective 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. Finally, Barclays upgraded shares of Agilent Technologies from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $135.00 to $145.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $146.15.

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.