Meeder Advisory Services Inc. Raises Holdings in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Meeder Advisory Services Inc. lifted its stake in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 3.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,722 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 137 shares during the quarter. Meeder Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $657,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Synovus Financial Corp boosted its position in Agilent Technologies by 2.3% during the first quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 6,751 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $895,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL boosted its position in Agilent Technologies by 7.3% during the first quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 28,606 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,785,000 after purchasing an additional 1,957 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in Agilent Technologies by 52.1% during the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 2,334 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $309,000 after purchasing an additional 799 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Agilent Technologies by 1.1% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 24,531,170 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $3,246,209,000 after purchasing an additional 261,435 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zions Bancorporation N.A. boosted its position in Agilent Technologies by 10.8% during the first quarter. Zions Bancorporation N.A. now owns 2,880 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $381,000 after purchasing an additional 281 shares in the last quarter.

Insider Activity at Agilent Technologies

In other Agilent Technologies news, Director Heidi Fields sold 1,658 shares of Agilent Technologies stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.34, for a total value of $239,315.72. Following the sale, the director now owns 54,976 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,935,235.84. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, VP Rodney Gonsalves sold 4,828 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.00, for a total transaction of $719,372.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 21,329 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,178,021. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Heidi Fields sold 1,658 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.34, for a total value of $239,315.72. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 54,976 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,935,235.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 61,610 shares of company stock worth $9,220,333 in the last quarter.

Agilent Technologies Stock Up 0.2 %

Agilent Technologies stock opened at $144.45 on Tuesday. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $96.80 and a 1-year high of $151.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 2.68 and a quick ratio of 2.04. The stock has a market cap of $42.33 billion, a PE ratio of 34.39, a P/E/G ratio of 4.36 and a beta of 1.11. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $140.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $128.14.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The medical research company reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.22 by $0.07. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 27.09% and a net margin of 18.35%. The business had revenue of $1.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.59 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.37 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 24th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 2nd will be given a $0.236 dividend. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.65%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 1st. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.38%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus raised Agilent Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $145.00 to $163.00 in a report on Friday. Bank of America cut Agilent Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price target for the company from $130.00 to $133.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 12th. Barclays increased their price target on Agilent Technologies from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Agilent Technologies from $67.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Agilent Technologies in a report on Wednesday, December 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $140.00 price target for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Agilent Technologies has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $140.71.

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.