Handelsbanken Fonder AB Sells 12,121 Shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB lessened its position in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 8.5% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 129,669 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 12,121 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $18,028,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Carmel Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Carmel Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,709 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $933,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the period. Kepos Capital LP increased its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 3.5% during the third quarter. Kepos Capital LP now owns 2,775 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $310,000 after buying an additional 93 shares during the period. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton increased its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 51.1% during the fourth quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 284 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the period. Invesco LLC increased its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 0.7% during the third quarter. Invesco LLC now owns 15,471 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,730,000 after buying an additional 101 shares during the period. Finally, Balentine LLC increased its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 3.4% during the third quarter. Balentine LLC now owns 3,180 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $356,000 after buying an additional 104 shares during the period.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Agilent Technologies news, SVP Philip Binns sold 2,827 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.54, for a total value of $417,095.58. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,997 shares in the company, valued at $1,474,957.38. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Agilent Technologies news, CEO Michael R. Mcmullen sold 52,297 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total value of $7,844,550.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 253,909 shares in the company, valued at $38,086,350. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Philip Binns sold 2,827 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.54, for a total transaction of $417,095.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 9,997 shares in the company, valued at $1,474,957.38. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 61,610 shares of company stock worth $9,220,333.

Agilent Technologies Stock Up 0.9 %

Agilent Technologies stock opened at $133.91 on Tuesday. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $96.80 and a fifty-two week high of $151.58. The stock has a market cap of $39.24 billion, a PE ratio of 31.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 1.11. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $141.21 and its 200 day simple moving average is $130.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a current ratio of 2.68.

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

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 24th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.236 per share. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 1st. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.38%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Agilent Technologies 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.