Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) Shares Bought by Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank grew its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 22.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 225,646 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 41,163 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $30,313,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. AlphaQuest LLC grew its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 57.3% during the fourth quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 10,795 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,450,000 after acquiring an additional 3,933 shares during the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC grew its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 5,707 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $767,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its position in Agilent Technologies by 8.5% in the 4th quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 4,437 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $596,000 after buying an additional 349 shares in the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in Agilent Technologies by 11.1% in the 4th quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 184,715 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $24,815,000 after buying an additional 18,474 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 87.42% of the company’s stock.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

NYSE:A opened at $122.02 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.20, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $121.45 and a twelve month high of $155.35. The firm has a market cap of $34.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.56 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a 50-day moving average of $139.42 and a 200-day moving average of $138.55.

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

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be issued a $0.248 dividend. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. Agilent Technologies’s payout ratio is 22.76%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Agilent Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 24th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $157.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $146.15.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Agilent Technologies 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 39,652 shares in the company, valued at $5,947,800. The trade was a 4.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

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.