Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd Sells 5,009 Shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd lowered its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 57.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,670 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 5,009 shares during the period. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $493,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Quadrant Capital Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 3.7% during the fourth quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 4,657 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $626,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the period. Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co increased its position in Agilent Technologies by 53.3% in the 4th quarter. Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 23,000 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $3,090,000 after buying an additional 8,000 shares in the last quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. raised its stake in Agilent Technologies by 18.9% during the 4th quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 322,224 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $43,289,000 after buying an additional 51,144 shares during the period. Sit Investment Associates Inc. boosted its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. Sit Investment Associates Inc. now owns 57,972 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $7,788,000 after acquiring an additional 3,755 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Agilent Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $11,567,000.

Agilent Technologies Trading Down 6.1 %

Shares of Agilent Technologies stock opened at $102.97 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $29.36 billion, a PE ratio of 23.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.19. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $101.80 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. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $130.34 and a 200-day moving average price of $135.71.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The medical research company reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $1.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 19.27% and a return on equity of 25.56%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.57 EPS for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.248 per share. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.76%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Agilent Technologies news, Director Daniel K. Podolsky sold 1,819 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.46, for a total transaction of $211,840.74. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 35,737 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,161,931.02. This represents a 4.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Rodney Gonsalves sold 1,908 shares of Agilent Technologies stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.98, for a total transaction of $232,737.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 21,786 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,657,456.28. The trade was a 8.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 5,638 shares of company stock valued at $731,229 over the last ninety days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Agilent Technologies from $157.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 9th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 13th. Barclays upgraded shares of Agilent Technologies from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $135.00 to $145.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. StockNews.com upgraded Agilent Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered 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. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $150.83.

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.