Maryland State Retirement & Pension System Boosts Stock Position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Maryland State Retirement & Pension System grew its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 1.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 22,932 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 382 shares during the period. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $3,064,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. UBS Group AG lifted its position in Agilent Technologies by 84.5% in the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 325,695 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $45,281,000 after purchasing an additional 149,159 shares during the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc raised its position in Agilent Technologies by 27.1% during the fourth quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 1,609,420 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $223,758,000 after buying an additional 343,175 shares during the period. DAVENPORT & Co LLC lifted its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 77.7% in the fourth quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 4,882 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $679,000 after purchasing an additional 2,135 shares in the last quarter. Meritage Group LP lifted its position in Agilent Technologies by 28.3% in the 4th quarter. Meritage Group LP now owns 2,116,862 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $294,307,000 after buying an additional 467,451 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its position in Agilent Technologies by 18.2% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 508,184 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $70,653,000 after purchasing an additional 78,225 shares during the last quarter.

Insider Transactions at Agilent Technologies

In other Agilent Technologies news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,958 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.00, for a total transaction of $254,540.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 25,185 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,274,050. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, SVP Dominique Grau sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.28, for a total transaction of $1,999,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 49,486 shares in the company, valued at $6,595,494.08. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,958 shares of Agilent Technologies stock in a transaction on Monday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.00, for a total transaction of $254,540.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 25,185 shares in the company, valued at $3,274,050. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

A stock opened at $126.35 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 2.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $96.80 and a twelve month high of $155.35. The business’s fifty day moving average is $138.51 and its 200-day moving average is $138.10. The company has a market cap of $36.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.28 and a beta of 1.05.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 29th. The medical research company reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $1.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.58 billion. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 26.25% and a net margin of 18.84%. The company’s revenue was down 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.27 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.25 EPS for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 24th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 2nd will be issued a $0.236 dividend. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 2nd. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.22%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A has been the subject of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $165.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Barclays dropped their price target on Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $125.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 31st. Wolfe Research lowered shares of Agilent Technologies from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $67.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their target price on Agilent Technologies from $145.00 to $135.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $137.13.

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.