Thematics Asset Management Increases Stock Position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Thematics Asset Management raised its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 0.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 105,657 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 197 shares during the quarter. Thematics Asset Management’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $14,194,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in A. Flynn Zito Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Agilent Technologies by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Flynn Zito Capital Management LLC now owns 1,871 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $251,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc grew its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 17.7% during the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 458 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Tiemann Investment Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Tiemann Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,423 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $191,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Rothschild Investment LLC raised its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 19.2% in the fourth quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 491 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $66,000 after buying an additional 79 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC boosted its stake in Agilent Technologies by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 7,479 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,025,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the period.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Rodney Gonsalves sold 1,908 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.98, for a total value of $232,737.84. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 21,786 shares in the company, valued at $2,657,456.28. This represents a 8.05 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Daniel K. Podolsky sold 1,819 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.46, for a total value of $211,840.74. Following the transaction, the director now owns 35,737 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,161,931.02. The trade was a 4.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 5,638 shares of company stock worth $731,229 over the last three months.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:A opened at $102.38 on Friday. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $96.43 and a 12 month high of $155.35. The company has a market cap of $29.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a current ratio of 2.20, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $119.55 and a 200-day moving average price of $132.40.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last posted its 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. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 25.56% and a net margin of 19.27%. The firm had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.67 billion. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.54 EPS for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.76%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Agilent Technologies from $161.00 to $159.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $155.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $138.00 to $115.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Agilent Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 24th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $144.58.

Agilent Technologies 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.