Cinctive Capital Management LP Makes New Investment in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Cinctive Capital Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 96,302 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,937,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of A. Sienna Gestion increased its position in Agilent Technologies by 29.8% during the fourth quarter. Sienna Gestion now owns 78,445 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $10,537,000 after buying an additional 17,991 shares during the period. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 8.5% in the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 33,898 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $4,554,000 after acquiring an additional 2,664 shares during the period. S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC raised its position in Agilent Technologies by 12.7% in the 4th quarter. S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC now owns 42,587 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $5,721,000 after purchasing an additional 4,805 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its stake in Agilent Technologies by 16.0% during the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 49,288 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $6,621,000 after purchasing an additional 6,802 shares during the period. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC grew its position in Agilent Technologies by 9.8% during the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 43,862 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $5,892,000 after purchasing an additional 3,915 shares during the last quarter.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A has been the subject of several recent research reports. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on shares of 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 upped their price target on Agilent Technologies to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Bank of America cut 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 report on Friday, December 13th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $157.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Agilent Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $150.83.

Insider Buying and Selling at Agilent Technologies

In other news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,911 shares of the business’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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 39,652 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,947,800. The trade was a 4.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Rodney Gonsalves sold 1,908 shares of the firm’s 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 owns 21,786 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,657,456.28. The trade was a 8.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of A opened at $113.67 on Wednesday. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $113.36 and a 12-month high of $155.35. The stock has a market cap of $32.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.13, a PEG ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 1.19. 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 50-day moving average of $132.90 and a two-hundred day moving average of $136.32.

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

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.248 per share. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.76%.

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.