Everence Capital Management Inc. Has $1.42 Million Stock Holdings in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Everence Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 95.7% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 10,185 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,980 shares during the period. Everence Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $1,416,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Gotham Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Agilent Technologies by 246.7% during the 3rd quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 54,437 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $6,087,000 after purchasing an additional 38,737 shares in the last quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC increased its stake in Agilent Technologies by 77.7% during the 4th quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 4,882 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $679,000 after purchasing an additional 2,135 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its stake in Agilent Technologies by 65.6% during the 3rd quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,446 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $161,000 after purchasing an additional 573 shares in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp increased its stake in Agilent Technologies by 259.9% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 119,582 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $13,375,000 after purchasing an additional 86,355 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Natixis Advisors L.P. increased its stake in Agilent Technologies by 20.9% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 64,155 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $7,174,000 after purchasing an additional 11,075 shares in the last quarter. 87.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Agilent Technologies

In related news, SVP Philip Binns sold 2,827 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.54, for a total value of $417,095.58. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 9,997 shares in the company, valued at $1,474,957.38. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Michael R. Mcmullen sold 52,297 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total value of $7,844,550.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 253,909 shares in the company, valued at $38,086,350. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Philip Binns sold 2,827 shares of Agilent Technologies stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.54, for a total value of $417,095.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 9,997 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,474,957.38. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 61,610 shares of company stock valued at $9,220,333. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Agilent Technologies Trading Down 2.5 %

Shares of Agilent Technologies stock opened at $136.71 on Wednesday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $141.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $129.45. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $96.80 and a 1 year high of $151.58. The company has a market capitalization of $40.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.55, a P/E/G ratio of 4.24 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 2.68 and a quick ratio of 2.04.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The medical research company reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.22 by $0.07. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 27.09% and a net margin of 18.35%. The company had revenue of $1.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.59 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.37 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.51 EPS for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 24th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.236 per share. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 1st. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.38%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on A. StockNews.com raised shares of Agilent Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 19th. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $130.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $67.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $132.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $141.29.

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.