Tower Research Capital LLC TRC Increases Stock Holdings in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its stake in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 127.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 18,931 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 10,602 shares during the quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $2,543,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Natixis boosted its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 60.9% in the 4th quarter. Natixis now owns 39,429 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $5,297,000 after buying an additional 14,920 shares during the last quarter. Ostrum Asset Management boosted its position in Agilent Technologies by 11.0% in the fourth quarter. Ostrum Asset Management now owns 4,836 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $650,000 after purchasing an additional 480 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Agilent Technologies by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,150,499 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $154,562,000 after purchasing an additional 49,833 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 612,490 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $82,282,000 after purchasing an additional 1,742 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Forum Financial Management LP raised its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 42.4% during the 4th quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 3,442 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $462,000 after purchasing an additional 1,025 shares during the period.

Insider Transactions at Agilent Technologies

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. StockNews.com raised Agilent Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Agilent Technologies from $155.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $161.00 to $159.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $116.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Agilent Technologies has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $143.00.

Agilent Technologies Stock Down 2.1 %

A stock opened at $100.29 on Tuesday. 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 stock has a market cap of $28.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.19. The company’s 50 day moving average is $118.79 and its 200 day moving average is $132.00. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $96.43 and a 1-year high of $155.35.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The medical research company reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $1.68 billion during 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%. Sell-side analysts predict that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

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

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.