Nordea Investment Management AB Grows Stock Position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 2.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,198,715 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 80,819 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB owned approximately 1.12% of Agilent Technologies worth $431,603,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Agilent Technologies by 102.5% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,983 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $535,000 after purchasing an additional 2,016 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 102.4% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,164 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $156,000 after buying an additional 589 shares in the last quarter. Dudley & Shanley Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies in the third quarter worth $8,300,000. Tidal Investments LLC raised its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 8.2% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 14,752 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,187,000 after acquiring an additional 1,113 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in Agilent Technologies in the third quarter valued at $535,000. 87.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Agilent Technologies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:A opened at $135.69 on Monday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $135.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $136.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.70, a PEG ratio of 4.48 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a current ratio of 2.09, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $124.16 and a 52 week high of $155.35.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last posted its earnings results on Monday, November 25th. The medical research company reported $1.46 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $1.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.67 billion. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 25.43% and a net margin of 19.80%. The firm’s revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.38 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $0.248 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This is a positive change from Agilent Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.73%. Agilent Technologies’s payout ratio is 22.40%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on A shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $157.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on Agilent Technologies from $145.00 to $135.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $143.62.

Agilent Technologies Company 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.