American Century Companies Inc. Sells 414,143 Shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

American Century Companies Inc. lowered its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 44.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 512,053 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 414,143 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc.’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $68,789,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CKW Financial Group increased its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 114.9% in the fourth 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. increased its position in Agilent Technologies by 161.1% in the 4th 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. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management grew its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 66.5% in the fourth quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management now owns 263 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in Agilent Technologies during the fourth quarter worth $37,000.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Agilent Technologies from $161.00 to $159.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Bank of America cut their price target on Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 13th. StockNews.com upgraded Agilent Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 24th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Agilent Technologies from $157.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $146.15.

Agilent Technologies Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of A stock opened at $120.35 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $34.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.67, a P/E/G ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 1.11. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $117.17 and a 12-month high of $155.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 2.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $135.88 and a 200 day moving average price of $137.05.

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

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be given a dividend of $0.248 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.82%. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.76%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,911 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total value of $286,650.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 39,652 shares in the company, valued at $5,947,800. This trade represents a 4.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Rodney Gonsalves sold 1,908 shares of Agilent Technologies stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.98, for a total value of $232,737.84. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 21,786 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,657,456.28. The trade was a 8.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

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.