Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. Acquires 2,372 Shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 385,703 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 2,372 shares during the quarter. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $49,999,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Qsemble Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies during the 2nd quarter worth about $870,000. Brasada Capital Management LP increased its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 25.0% during the 2nd quarter. Brasada Capital Management LP now owns 7,500 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $972,000 after purchasing an additional 1,500 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC increased its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 647.1% during the 2nd quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 11,744 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,522,000 after purchasing an additional 10,172 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 7.4% during the 2nd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 36,410 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $4,720,000 after purchasing an additional 2,493 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Andra AP fonden increased its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 12.7% during the 2nd quarter. Andra AP fonden now owns 215,500 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $27,935,000 after purchasing an additional 24,200 shares during the last quarter. 87.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and set a $135.00 price objective (down from $152.00) on shares of Agilent Technologies in a research note on Monday, June 3rd. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $141.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Agilent Technologies presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $141.60.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of Agilent Technologies stock opened at $138.65 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $136.33 and a 200-day moving average of $139.16. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $96.80 and a 1-year 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 company has a market cap of $40.45 billion, a PE ratio of 32.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.36 and a beta of 1.05.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 21st. The medical research company reported $1.32 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.26 by $0.06. Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 21.75% and a return on equity of 25.26%. The company had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.56 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.43 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 5.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Agilent Technologies

In other news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,958 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.00, for a total transaction of $283,910.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 24,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,497,110. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.