SBI Securities Co. Ltd. Takes Position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 1,439 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $193,000.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Flynn Zito Capital Management LLC increased its holdings 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 buying an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc grew its position in Agilent Technologies by 17.7% during the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 458 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $62,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. increased its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 13.5% in the 3rd quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 646 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $96,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC raised its position in Agilent Technologies by 19.2% in the fourth quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 491 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rovin Capital UT ADV boosted its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 1.6% during the third quarter. Rovin Capital UT ADV now owns 5,049 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $750,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares in the last quarter.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of A stock opened at $126.62 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 2.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $121.45 and a 52 week high of $155.35. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $139.85 and a 200-day moving average of $138.79. The company has a market cap of $36.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 1.11.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The medical research company reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $1.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 19.27% and a return on equity of 25.56%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.248 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.78%. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is 22.76%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $161.00 to $159.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $157.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 9th. StockNews.com raised shares of Agilent Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Agilent Technologies from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Barclays raised Agilent Technologies from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $135.00 to $145.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. Seven 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, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $146.15.

Insider Transactions at Agilent Technologies

In related news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,911 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total value of $286,650.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 39,652 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,947,800. This represents a 4.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

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.