Sone Capital Management LLC Buys New Holdings in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Sone Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 45,157 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,066,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CKW Financial Group boosted its position in Agilent Technologies by 114.9% during the 4th quarter. CKW Financial Group now owns 187 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 161.1% in the fourth quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 188 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 116 shares during the period. Redwood Park Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Hanson & Doremus Investment Management raised its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 66.5% during the 4th quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management now owns 263 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the period.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 stock was sold at an average price of $116.46, for a total value of $211,840.74. Following the transaction, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Rodney Gonsalves sold 1,908 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 21,786 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,657,456.28. The trade was a 8.05% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have issued reports on A shares. Barclays lowered their price objective 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. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of 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 shares of Agilent Technologies from $161.00 to $159.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. TD Cowen raised their target price on Agilent Technologies to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $116.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $143.00.

Agilent Technologies Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of A stock opened at $113.76 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.43 billion, a PE ratio of 26.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.27. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $110.44 and a two-hundred day moving average of $128.16. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $96.43 and a 1 year high of $154.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a current ratio of 2.20.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last released its 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 firm had revenue of $1.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. As a group, research analysts expect that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.54 EPS for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st were given a dividend of $0.248 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.87%. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.