JLB & Associates Inc. Has $3.41 Million Stock Holdings in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

JLB & Associates Inc. raised its position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 14.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 29,112 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 3,730 shares during the period. JLB & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $3,406,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Agilent Technologies during the 4th quarter valued at about $456,963,000. Madison Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $94,051,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 15,648.1% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 627,247 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $73,375,000 after buying an additional 623,264 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP lifted its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 345.9% in the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 769,897 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $103,428,000 after buying an additional 597,249 shares during the period. Finally, Iron Triangle Partners LP bought a new position in Agilent Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $80,110,000.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of A opened at $119.07 on Tuesday. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $96.43 and a twelve month high of $153.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a current ratio of 2.09. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $109.74 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $125.15. The firm has a market cap of $33.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.40, a PEG ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 1.23.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The medical research company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.26 by $0.05. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 25.92% and a net margin of 17.59%. The company had revenue of $1.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.63 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.22 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 23rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.248 per share. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 1st. Agilent Technologies’s payout ratio is 24.44%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Agilent Technologies

In related news, Director Daniel K. Podolsky sold 1,819 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 35,737 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,161,931.02. This trade represents a 4.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on the stock. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $138.00 to $115.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $159.00 to $140.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Leerink Partners increased their target price on Agilent Technologies to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Wall Street Zen cut Agilent Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $116.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Agilent Technologies currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $140.15.

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.