Gotham Asset Management LLC Has $767,000 Stock Position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Gotham Asset Management LLC cut its stake in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 72.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,709 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 15,018 shares during the period. Gotham Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $767,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Sienna Gestion grew its stake in Agilent Technologies by 29.8% during the fourth quarter. Sienna Gestion now owns 78,445 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $10,537,000 after buying an additional 17,991 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 8.5% in the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 33,898 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $4,554,000 after acquiring an additional 2,664 shares in the last quarter. Prudential PLC grew its position in Agilent Technologies by 16.0% during the 4th quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 73,273 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $9,843,000 after acquiring an additional 10,128 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 9.8% during the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 43,862 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $5,892,000 after purchasing an additional 3,915 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its position in Agilent Technologies by 16.0% in the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 49,288 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $6,621,000 after purchasing an additional 6,802 shares during the last quarter.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Agilent Technologies

In other Agilent Technologies news, Director Daniel K. Podolsky sold 1,819 shares of Agilent Technologies stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.46, for a total value of $211,840.74. Following the transaction, the director now owns 35,737 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,161,931.02. The trade was a 4.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Rodney Gonsalves sold 1,908 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.98, for a total transaction of $232,737.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 21,786 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,657,456.28. This trade represents a 8.05% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of Agilent Technologies stock opened at $113.76 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $110.44 and a two-hundred day moving average of $128.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a current ratio of 2.20. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.15, a PEG ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.27. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $96.43 and a 52 week high of $154.95.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The medical research company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.54 EPS for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 1st were issued a dividend of $0.248 per share. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 1st. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.76%.

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.