UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC Purchases 136,184 Shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 4.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,948,536 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 136,184 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $437,799,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 953.3% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 32,694 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $4,757,000 after purchasing an additional 29,590 shares during the last quarter. Marshall Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,058,000. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 6.6% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,976,905 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $442,011,000 after acquiring an additional 183,716 shares during the last quarter. AXA S.A. increased its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 32.3% during the second quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 362,945 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $47,049,000 after acquiring an additional 88,667 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC increased its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 29.8% during the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 30,978 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $4,592,000 after acquiring an additional 7,111 shares during the last quarter. 87.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Agilent Technologies Price Performance

NYSE:A opened at $138.14 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.66, a P/E/G ratio of 5.91 and a beta of 1.07. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $124.10 and a 52-week high of $155.35. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $137.65 and a 200 day moving average of $137.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a current ratio of 1.78.

Agilent Technologies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.248 per share. This is a positive change from Agilent Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.72%. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 20.54%.

Insider Activity at Agilent Technologies

In other Agilent Technologies news, SVP Dominique Grau sold 9,990 shares of Agilent Technologies stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.00, for a total transaction of $1,448,550.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 40,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,801,595. The trade was a 19.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on A. Bank of America increased their price target on Agilent Technologies from $140.00 to $147.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Barclays decreased their price target on Agilent Technologies from $145.00 to $135.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Agilent Technologies from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. UBS Group increased their price target on Agilent Technologies from $141.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Agilent Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $143.40.

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.