Man Group plc Purchases 12,581 Shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Man Group plc grew its position in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 4.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 311,374 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 12,581 shares during the quarter. Man Group plc owned about 0.11% of Agilent Technologies worth $41,830,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Flynn Zito Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 worth $251,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 17.7% during the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 458 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Tiemann Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 5.6% during 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 last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC lifted its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 19.2% during the fourth quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 491 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $66,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 worth $1,025,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the last quarter.

Insider Activity at Agilent Technologies

In other Agilent Technologies 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 value of $211,840.74. Following the sale, the director now owns 35,737 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,161,931.02. This represents a 4.84% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 21,786 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,657,456.28. This represents a 8.05% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on A. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Agilent Technologies to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Barclays decreased their target price on 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. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $116.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 21st. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $155.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, 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. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Agilent Technologies currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $143.00.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of Agilent Technologies stock opened at $111.49 on Thursday. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a one year low of $96.43 and a one year high of $155.35. The company has a market capitalization of $31.79 billion, a PE ratio of 25.63, a P/E/G ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a current ratio of 2.20. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $110.78 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $128.45.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The medical research company reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.04. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 25.56% and a net margin of 19.27%. The business had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. Research analysts expect that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 1st were given a $0.248 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.89%. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.76%.

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.