Howard Capital Management Inc. Has $285,000 Holdings in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Howard Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 6.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 2,123 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 122 shares during the period. Howard Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $285,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of A. AMF Tjanstepension AB bought a new position in Agilent Technologies in the third quarter valued at about $2,726,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Agilent Technologies in the third quarter valued at about $12,961,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 173.6% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 27,113 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $4,026,000 after purchasing an additional 17,203 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 18.5% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 26,388 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,907,000 after purchasing an additional 4,118 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PFG Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 6.9% during the third quarter. PFG Investments LLC now owns 2,345 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $348,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.42% of the company’s stock.

Agilent Technologies Price Performance

Agilent Technologies stock opened at $134.05 on Wednesday. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a one year low of $124.16 and a one year high of $155.35. 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 stock’s 50 day moving average is $140.87 and its 200 day moving average is $139.31. The firm has a market cap of $38.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.33, a P/E/G ratio of 3.67 and a beta of 1.07.

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

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be paid a $0.248 dividend. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.40%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Agilent Technologies

In other Agilent Technologies news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,911 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 39,652 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,947,800. The trade was a 4.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on A shares. StockNews.com upgraded Agilent Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. Citigroup boosted 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 reduced their price target on Agilent Technologies from $157.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 9th. 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 report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, 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 report on Tuesday, November 26th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $144.38.

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.