Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) Shares Acquired by Daiwa Securities Group Inc.

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 16.7% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 42,486 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,076 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $6,309,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in Agilent Technologies by 3.5% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 15,589,874 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,314,784,000 after buying an additional 525,214 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in Agilent Technologies by 6.6% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,976,905 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $442,011,000 after buying an additional 183,716 shares during the period. Impax Asset Management Group plc raised its position in Agilent Technologies by 8.2% during the third quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 2,667,616 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $396,088,000 after buying an additional 203,234 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Agilent Technologies by 2.3% during the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,386,039 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $309,302,000 after buying an additional 52,550 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Agilent Technologies by 10.0% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,088,644 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $141,131,000 after buying an additional 99,080 shares during the period.

Insider Buying and Selling at Agilent Technologies

In related news, SVP Dominique Grau sold 9,990 shares of Agilent Technologies stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.00, for a total transaction of $1,448,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 40,011 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,801,595. This trade represents a 19.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Citigroup upped their price target on Agilent Technologies from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. UBS Group boosted their target price on Agilent Technologies from $141.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Barclays boosted their target price on Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 15th. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and issued a $151.00 target price on shares of Agilent Technologies in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on Agilent Technologies from $140.00 to $147.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $144.36.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of Agilent Technologies stock opened at $134.50 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $38.65 billion, a PE ratio of 27.90, a PEG ratio of 5.89 and a beta of 1.07. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $124.10 and a 12 month high of $155.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $137.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $137.54.

Agilent Technologies Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a $0.248 dividend. This is an increase from Agilent Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.74%. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.50%.

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.