Federated Hermes Inc. Grows Position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Federated Hermes Inc. increased its position in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 3.7% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 34,226 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,218 shares during the quarter. Federated Hermes Inc.’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $4,004,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its position in Agilent Technologies by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 5,341,870 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $624,888,000 after buying an additional 128,131 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its position in Agilent Technologies by 0.9% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 4,436,700 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $596,026,000 after buying an additional 38,348 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp boosted its position in Agilent Technologies by 12.3% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,192,790 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $563,259,000 after buying an additional 457,713 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in Agilent Technologies by 9.6% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,231,981 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $434,184,000 after buying an additional 283,445 shares during the period. Finally, Impax Asset Management Group plc boosted its position in Agilent Technologies by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 2,931,794 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $342,961,000 after buying an additional 102,365 shares during the period.

Agilent Technologies Trading Up 1.3%

NYSE A opened at $114.99 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The firm has a market cap of $32.67 billion, a PE ratio of 28.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.44 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $117.21 and a 200 day moving average price of $120.24. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $96.43 and a 52 week high of $153.84.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 28th. The medical research company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.26 by $0.05. Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 17.59% and a return on equity of 25.92%. The firm had revenue of $1.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.63 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.22 EPS. Agilent Technologies’s revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 23rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 1st were paid a dividend of $0.248 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 1st. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 24.44%.

Insider Transactions at Agilent Technologies

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A has been the subject of several research reports. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies to $150.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target 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, April 21st. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $159.00 to $140.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $160.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of Agilent Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 28th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $139.77.

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.