Groupama Asset Managment Purchases 2,045 Shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Groupama Asset Managment grew its position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 19.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 12,834 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,045 shares during the quarter. Groupama Asset Managment’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $1,725,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies in the 4th quarter valued at about $456,963,000. Madison Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $94,051,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $48,172,000. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Agilent Technologies during the 3rd quarter valued at $49,449,000. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in Agilent Technologies by 8.7% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,235,263 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $434,625,000 after buying an additional 258,358 shares during the last quarter.

Insider Buying and Selling at Agilent Technologies

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 value of $286,650.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 39,652 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,947,800. The trade was a 4.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Rodney Gonsalves sold 1,908 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.98, for a total transaction of $232,737.84. Following the transaction, the vice president now 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. Insiders have sold 5,638 shares of company stock worth $731,229 over the last quarter.

Agilent Technologies Trading Up 1.7 %

NYSE A opened at $115.96 on Thursday. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a one year low of $112.75 and a one year high of $155.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a current ratio of 2.20. The company has a market capitalization of $33.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 1.19. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $132.16 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $136.18.

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

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be given a dividend of $0.248 per share. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.86%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. Agilent Technologies’s payout ratio is currently 22.76%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $157.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Agilent Technologies to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Barclays upgraded Agilent Technologies from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $135.00 to $145.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Agilent Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $150.83.

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.