LGT Capital Partners LTD. Sells 7,805 Shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. $A

LGT Capital Partners LTD. decreased its holdings in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 1.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 796,093 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 7,805 shares during the quarter. Agilent Technologies accounts for about 5.0% of LGT Capital Partners LTD.’s holdings, making the stock its 5th largest holding. LGT Capital Partners LTD. owned 0.28% of Agilent Technologies worth $102,179,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of A. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 33,997,845 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $4,012,086,000 after buying an additional 589,219 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 10.7% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 13,227,387 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,560,964,000 after acquiring an additional 1,273,994 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Agilent Technologies by 1.6% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,319,530 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $860,137,000 after acquiring an additional 115,183 shares during the period. Generation Investment Management LLP raised its position in Agilent Technologies by 10.1% during the third quarter. Generation Investment Management LLP now owns 6,357,953 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $816,043,000 after acquiring an additional 582,093 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in Agilent Technologies during the second quarter valued at $395,088,000.

Agilent Technologies Trading Up 1.0%

A opened at $124.14 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $35.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.57 and a beta of 1.30. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $135.84 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $135.98. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $96.43 and a 1-year high of $160.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 1.96 and a quick ratio of 1.52.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 24th. The medical research company reported $1.59 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.58 by $0.01. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 25.20% and a net margin of 18.75%.The business had revenue of $1.86 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.83 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.46 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, March 31st will be given a $0.255 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, March 31st. This represents a $1.02 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is 22.32%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on A. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Agilent Technologies in a report on Tuesday, December 2nd. They issued an “overweight” rating on the stock. HSBC started coverage on Agilent Technologies in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. They set a “buy” rating and a $180.00 price objective for the company. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Agilent Technologies from $142.00 to $165.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on Agilent Technologies from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 25th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $164.50.

Insider Activity

In other Agilent Technologies news, VP Rodney Gonsalves sold 3,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.99, for a total transaction of $464,970.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 31,846 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,935,811.54. This represents a 8.61% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

About Agilent Technologies

Agilent Technologies is a global provider of scientific instrumentation, consumables, software and services for laboratories across the life sciences, diagnostics and applied chemical markets. The company’s product portfolio includes analytical instruments such as liquid and gas chromatographs, mass spectrometers, spectroscopy systems, and laboratory automation solutions, together with reagents, supplies and informatics tools that support measurement, testing and data analysis workflows. Agilent also offers instrument maintenance, qualification and laboratory services designed to help customers improve productivity and comply with regulatory requirements.

Founded as a corporate spin-off from Hewlett‑Packard in 1999, Agilent has evolved through a combination of strategic restructuring and acquisitions to concentrate on life sciences, diagnostics and applied laboratories.