Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) Stake Lessened by CCLA Investment Management

CCLA Investment Management lessened its holdings in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 14.5% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 669,251 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 113,666 shares during the period. CCLA Investment Management owned about 0.23% of Agilent Technologies worth $89,933,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of A. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Agilent Technologies by 142.2% in the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 7,616 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $985,000 after buying an additional 4,472 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies in the second quarter worth $39,000. Federated Hermes Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 6.6% during the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 106,908 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $13,858,000 after acquiring an additional 6,583 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in Agilent Technologies by 1.7% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 771,162 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $99,966,000 after purchasing an additional 13,248 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Agilent Technologies by 10.0% in 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 purchasing an additional 99,080 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.42% of the company’s stock.

Agilent Technologies Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of A opened at $143.46 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $40.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.46, a PEG ratio of 4.48 and a beta of 1.06. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a one year low of $124.16 and a one year high of $155.35. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $136.07 and its 200-day simple moving average is $136.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 2.09 and a quick ratio of 1.58.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last announced its earnings results on Monday, November 25th. The medical research company reported $1.46 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $1.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.67 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.38 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a $0.248 dividend. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.69%. This is a positive change from Agilent Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.40%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup raised their price target on Agilent Technologies to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Agilent Technologies from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $157.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $143.62.

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.