Vontobel Holding Ltd. Has $6.80 Million Position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Vontobel Holding Ltd. lowered its holdings in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 2.0% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 48,883 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 1,012 shares during the quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd.’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $6,796,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Kepos Capital LP raised its stake in Agilent Technologies by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Kepos Capital LP now owns 2,775 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $310,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares during the period. Ancora Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 41.1% during the 1st quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 326 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton grew its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 51.1% during the 4th quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 284 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 8.1% during the 3rd quarter. Ronald Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,336 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $161,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco LLC grew its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco LLC now owns 15,471 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,730,000 after buying an additional 101 shares in the last quarter.

Agilent Technologies Stock Down 2.5 %

Shares of A opened at $136.71 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $40.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.55, a P/E/G ratio of 4.26 and a beta of 1.11. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $141.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $129.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 2.68 and a quick ratio of 2.04. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $96.80 and a 1 year high of $151.58.

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

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 24th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 2nd will be paid a $0.236 dividend. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 1st. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.38%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. UBS Group lifted their target price on Agilent Technologies from $130.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Stifel Nicolaus raised Agilent Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $145.00 to $163.00 in a report on Friday, April 5th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Agilent Technologies from $132.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Agilent Technologies from $67.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on Agilent Technologies from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $141.29.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

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.