Stephens Inc. AR acquired a new stake in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A – Get Rating) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 1,368 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $205,000.
A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 217.6% during the fourth quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 216 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Accurate Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 34.8% in the 3rd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 298 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Edge Capital Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 53.0% in the 3rd quarter. Edge Capital Group LLC now owns 303 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the period.
Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth
A number of brokerages have weighed in on A. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Agilent Technologies from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $150.00 to $170.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 10th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $152.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 20th. Credit Suisse Group lifted their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 1st. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Agilent Technologies from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 29th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Agilent Technologies from $170.00 to $174.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $163.31.
Agilent Technologies Stock Performance
Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 28th. The medical research company reported $1.37 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.31 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $1.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.70 billion. Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 19.09% and a return on equity of 30.35%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.21 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.68 EPS for the current year.
Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 26th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 4th will be issued a $0.225 dividend. This represents a $0.90 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.65%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 3rd. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.32%.
Agilent Technologies declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Monday, January 9th that permits the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the medical research company to reacquire up to 4.4% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.
Agilent Technologies Company Profile
Agilent Technologies, Inc engages in the provision of application focused solutions for life sciences, diagnostics, and applied chemical markets. It operates through the following segments: Life Sciences and Applied Markets, Diagnostics and Genomics, and Agilent CrossLab. The Life Sciences and Applied Markets segment offers application-focused solutions that include instruments and software that identify, quantify, and analyze the physical and biological properties of substances and products, as well as the clinical and life sciences research areas to interrogate samples at the molecular and cellular level.
Further Reading
- Get a free copy of the StockNews.com research report on Agilent Technologies (A)
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