QRG Capital Management Inc. Has $9.82 Million Stake in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 22.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 73,070 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 13,493 shares during the quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $9,816,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in A. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Agilent Technologies in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,066,000. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. boosted its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 10,771 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,447,000 after acquiring an additional 194 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Agilent Technologies by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 46,808 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $6,288,000 after acquiring an additional 877 shares during the last quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. raised its position in Agilent Technologies by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. now owns 114,275 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $15,352,000 after purchasing an additional 1,900 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Flynn Zito Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in 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.

Agilent Technologies Trading Down 5.5 %

NYSE A opened at $127.07 on Friday. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $124.16 and a 12 month high of $155.35. The company has a current ratio of 2.09, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.25 billion, a PE ratio of 29.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 1.07. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $140.78 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $139.20.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.04. The business 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 25.58%. On average, analysts expect that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.56 EPS for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be given a dividend of $0.248 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.78%. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.76%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Bank of America decreased their price target on Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their target price on Agilent Technologies from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. StockNews.com upgraded 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 price objective on shares of 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, Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $146.15.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,911 shares of Agilent Technologies stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were 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 owns 39,652 shares in the company, valued at $5,947,800. The trade was a 4.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

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.