Norges Bank Invests $456.96 Million in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 3,401,544 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $456,963,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies in the third quarter valued at $205,000. Algert Global LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies during the 3rd quarter worth about $487,000. Independent Advisor Alliance purchased a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies during the third quarter worth about $216,000. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. raised its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 13.5% in the third quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 646 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $96,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can lifted its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 54.8% during the third quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 297,658 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $44,071,000 after buying an additional 105,336 shares during the period.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lowered 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 note on Monday, December 9th. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on Agilent Technologies from $161.00 to $159.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Citigroup increased their target price on Agilent Technologies to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Agilent Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 24th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Agilent Technologies has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $150.83.

Agilent Technologies Trading Down 2.0 %

NYSE:A opened at $116.55 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $33.23 billion, a PE ratio of 26.79, a P/E/G ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 1.11. The business’s 50 day moving average is $134.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $136.65. The company has a quick ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 2.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $116.36 and a 52 week high of $155.35.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The medical research company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $1.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 19.27% and a return on equity of 25.56%. On average, analysts predict that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.57 EPS for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The firm 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. 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 0.85%. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.76%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Rodney Gonsalves sold 1,908 shares of Agilent Technologies stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.98, for a total value of $232,737.84. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 21,786 shares in the company, valued at $2,657,456.28. This trade represents a 8.05 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,911 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,947,800. This trade represents a 4.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

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.