Prudential PLC Has $9.84 Million Stock Holdings in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Prudential PLC raised its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 16.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 73,273 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 10,128 shares during the quarter. Prudential PLC’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $9,843,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies during the 4th quarter worth about $456,963,000. Madison Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies during the fourth quarter worth approximately $94,051,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $48,172,000. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $49,449,000. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in Agilent Technologies by 8.7% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,235,263 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $434,625,000 after acquiring an additional 258,358 shares during the last quarter.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Daniel K. Podolsky sold 1,819 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.46, for a total transaction of $211,840.74. Following the sale, the director now owns 35,737 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,161,931.02. This trade represents a 4.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Rodney Gonsalves sold 1,908 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.98, for a total value 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 $2,657,456.28. This represents a 8.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 5,638 shares of company stock valued at $731,229.

Agilent Technologies Trading Down 6.1 %

NYSE A opened at $102.97 on Friday. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $102.85 and a 12 month high of $155.35. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $130.34 and a 200 day simple moving average of $135.75. 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 company has a market capitalization of $29.36 billion, a PE ratio of 23.67, a P/E/G ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 1.19.

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

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders 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 0.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.76%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A has been the subject of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded Agilent Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 24th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Agilent Technologies from $157.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 9th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $161.00 to $159.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Bank of America dropped 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 note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Barclays raised shares of Agilent Technologies from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $135.00 to $145.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Agilent Technologies presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $150.83.

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.