Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) Shares Sold by Achmea Investment Management B.V.

Achmea Investment Management B.V. cut its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 26.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 8,887 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 3,125 shares during the period. Achmea Investment Management B.V.’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $1,194,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 17.9% in the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 957 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $129,000 after purchasing an additional 145 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 8.5% in the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 33,898 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $4,554,000 after purchasing an additional 2,664 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 6.6% in the fourth quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 71,413 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $9,594,000 after purchasing an additional 4,432 shares in the last quarter. Natural Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $416,000. Finally, Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI grew its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 57.9% in the fourth quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 2,296 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $308,000 after purchasing an additional 842 shares in the last quarter. 87.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Agilent Technologies Stock Up 3.6 %

A stock opened at $121.53 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $138.26 and a 200 day moving average price of $137.98. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $117.17 and a 12 month high of $155.35. The company has a market cap of $34.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 2.20 and a quick ratio of 1.66.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The medical research company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $1.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. Sell-side analysts expect that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be given a dividend of $0.248 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.82%. Agilent Technologies’s payout ratio is currently 22.76%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on A shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $157.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 9th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Agilent Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $146.15.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Agilent Technologies news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,911 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total transaction of $286,650.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 39,652 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,947,800. This represents a 4.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.26% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.