Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) Shares Sold by Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA trimmed its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 20.2% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 12,442,834 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 3,147,040 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $1,671,570,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies during the 4th quarter valued at $456,963,000. Madison Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies during the fourth quarter worth about $94,051,000. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 62.2% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,287,665 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $191,193,000 after buying an additional 493,947 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at about $48,172,000. Finally, Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies during the 3rd quarter valued at about $49,449,000.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Rodney Gonsalves sold 1,908 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.98, for a total transaction of $232,737.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 21,786 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,657,456.28. The trade was a 8.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,911 shares of the 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 39,652 shares in the company, 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.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Bank of America decreased their price target on Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 13th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $161.00 to $159.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. StockNews.com upgraded Agilent Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Agilent Technologies from $157.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Agilent Technologies has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $150.83.

Agilent Technologies Price Performance

Shares of A opened at $113.67 on Wednesday. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $113.36 and a 52 week high of $155.35. The company has a current ratio of 2.20, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The firm has a market cap of $32.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.13, a PEG ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 1.19. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $132.90 and a 200-day moving average of $136.32.

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%. As a group, analysts forecast that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.57 EPS for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.248 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.87%. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.76%.

Agilent Technologies 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.