Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) Stock Position Lifted by LGT Capital Partners LTD.

LGT Capital Partners LTD. grew its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 7.6% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 768,252 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 54,302 shares during the quarter. Agilent Technologies comprises approximately 4.0% of LGT Capital Partners LTD.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 8th largest holding. LGT Capital Partners LTD. owned about 0.27% of Agilent Technologies worth $89,870,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG lifted its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 57.0% in the 1st quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG now owns 249,294 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $29,162,000 after purchasing an additional 90,558 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia increased its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 125.5% during the 1st quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 316,494 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $37,023,000 after purchasing an additional 176,150 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies during the 1st quarter worth about $241,000. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd increased its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 8.1% during the 1st quarter. OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd now owns 287,538 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $33,624,000 after purchasing an additional 21,584 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Schiavi & Co LLC grew its position in Agilent Technologies by 12.2% in the 1st quarter. Schiavi & Co LLC now owns 3,215 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $376,000 after acquiring an additional 349 shares in the last quarter.

Insider Activity at Agilent Technologies

In other Agilent Technologies news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,508 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.44, for a total value of $177,099.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 37,448 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,397,893.12. This trade represents a 3.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on A shares. Barclays boosted their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $116.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, April 21st. Leerink Partners upped their price objective on Agilent Technologies to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Agilent Technologies from $159.00 to $140.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective 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. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Agilent Technologies currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $139.77.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

A opened at $113.51 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $32.24 billion, a PE ratio of 28.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.44 and a beta of 1.22. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $117.08 and a 200-day moving average of $120.64. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $96.43 and a 52-week high of $153.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a current ratio of 2.09.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The medical research company reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.26 by $0.05. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 25.92% and a net margin of 17.59%. The firm had revenue of $1.67 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.63 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.22 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 23rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 1st were given a $0.248 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 1st. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 24.44%.

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.