68,627 Shares in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) Purchased by Generali Asset Management SPA SGR

Generali Asset Management SPA SGR purchased a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 68,627 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,219,000.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in A. Madison Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $94,051,000. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 3.5% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 15,589,874 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,314,784,000 after purchasing an additional 525,214 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 62.2% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,287,665 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $191,193,000 after purchasing an additional 493,947 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Agilent Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at about $48,172,000. Finally, Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC bought a new position in Agilent Technologies in the third quarter valued at about $49,449,000.

Agilent Technologies Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of Agilent Technologies stock opened at $122.63 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $34.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.19, a P/E/G ratio of 3.40 and a beta of 1.11. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $137.99 and its 200-day simple moving average is $137.82. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $117.17 and a 1-year high of $155.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 2.20 and a quick ratio of 1.66.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 19.27% and a return on equity of 25.56%. The company had revenue of $1.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. Analysts predict that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be given a dividend of $0.248 per share. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.76%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Agilent Technologies

In other news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,911 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total transaction of $286,650.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. StockNews.com raised Agilent Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th. Barclays upgraded Agilent Technologies from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $135.00 to $145.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $157.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $161.00 to $159.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price target on Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $146.15.

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.