NorthRock Partners LLC Acquires 2,648 Shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

NorthRock Partners LLC increased its holdings in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 151.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,394 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 2,648 shares during the period. NorthRock Partners LLC’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $590,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 9,306,805 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,250,276,000 after acquiring an additional 59,781 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Agilent Technologies by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,002,671 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $938,291,000 after purchasing an additional 53,992 shares in the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its position in Agilent Technologies by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 5,213,739 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $700,414,000 after purchasing an additional 47,495 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG lifted its position in Agilent Technologies by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 4,436,700 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $596,026,000 after purchasing an additional 38,348 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in Agilent Technologies by 12.3% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,192,790 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $563,259,000 after buying an additional 457,713 shares in the last quarter.

Agilent Technologies Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of NYSE A opened at $112.29 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $110.59 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $128.32. The stock has a market cap of $32.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 1.27. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $96.43 and a 52-week high of $155.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a current ratio of 2.20.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 25.56% and a net margin of 19.27%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.54 EPS for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 1st were paid a $0.248 dividend. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 1st. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.76%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Daniel K. Podolsky sold 1,819 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.46, for a total transaction of $211,840.74. Following the sale, the director now owns 35,737 shares in the company, valued at $4,161,931.02. This represents a 4.84% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed 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 that occurred on 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.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $116.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 21st. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Agilent Technologies from $155.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on Agilent Technologies from $161.00 to $159.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Barclays dropped their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $138.00 to $115.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their target price on Agilent Technologies to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $143.00.

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.