Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) Shares Purchased by Mizuho Securities USA LLC

Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its position in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 43.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 27,232 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 8,313 shares during the quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $3,658,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of A. Madison Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Agilent Technologies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $94,051,000. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 62.2% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,287,665 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $191,193,000 after purchasing an additional 493,947 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $48,172,000. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $49,449,000. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 8.7% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,235,263 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $434,625,000 after purchasing an additional 258,358 shares during the period.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Agilent Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 24th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on Agilent Technologies from $161.00 to $159.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Citigroup increased their price target on Agilent Technologies to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $157.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 9th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $146.15.

Insider Transactions at Agilent Technologies

In other news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,911 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 $5,947,800. This trade represents a 4.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Rodney Gonsalves sold 1,908 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

A opened at $120.72 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $34.42 billion, a PE ratio of 27.75, a P/E/G ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a quick ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 2.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $136.74 and a 200-day simple moving average of $137.28. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $117.17 and a fifty-two week high of $155.35.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The medical research company reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $1.68 billion during 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 analysts predict that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.248 per share. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.76%.

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.