SVB Wealth LLC Makes New $7.51 Million Investment in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

SVB Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund purchased 55,886 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,508,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hahn Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 39.9% in the fourth quarter. Hahn Capital Management LLC now owns 66,701 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $8,961,000 after buying an additional 19,010 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 22.6% in the fourth quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 73,070 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $9,816,000 after buying an additional 13,493 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,066,000. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. grew its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 10,771 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,447,000 after buying an additional 194 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 46,808 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $6,288,000 after buying an additional 877 shares in the last quarter.

Agilent Technologies Trading Up 0.6 %

NYSE:A opened at $127.83 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $36.47 billion, a PE ratio of 29.39, a P/E/G ratio of 3.44 and a beta of 1.07. The business’s 50 day moving average is $140.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $139.14. The company has a quick ratio of 1.58, a current ratio of 2.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. 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 quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The medical research company reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.04. The business 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%. On average, analysts predict that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.56 EPS for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be issued a $0.248 dividend. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.78%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.76%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on A. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Agilent Technologies from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Bank of America lowered their target price on Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Barclays upgraded Agilent Technologies from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $135.00 to $145.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Agilent Technologies from $161.00 to $159.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Finally, StockNews.com raised 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 eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $146.15.

Insider Activity at Agilent Technologies

In related news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,911 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total value of $286,650.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 39,652 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,947,800. This trade represents a 4.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

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.