Fifth Third Bancorp Cuts Stake in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Fifth Third Bancorp lessened its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 4.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 32,790 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 1,363 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $4,405,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in A. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 15,589,874 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,314,784,000 after purchasing an additional 525,214 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 62.2% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,287,665 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $191,193,000 after buying an additional 493,947 shares during the period. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies during the 3rd quarter valued at $49,449,000. Jennison Associates LLC grew its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 63.3% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 586,439 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $87,075,000 after acquiring an additional 227,431 shares during the period. Finally, Ilex Capital Partners UK LLP purchased a new stake in Agilent Technologies in the 3rd quarter worth about $33,087,000. Institutional investors own 87.42% of the company’s stock.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

NYSE A opened at $151.24 on Monday. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $124.16 and a 52-week high of $155.35. The company has a fifty day moving average of $138.43 and a 200-day moving average of $138.15. The company has a market capitalization of $43.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.22, a P/E/G ratio of 4.12 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a current ratio of 2.09.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 25th. The medical research company reported $1.46 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $1.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.67 billion. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 25.43% and a net margin of 19.80%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.38 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were paid a $0.248 dividend. This is a boost from Agilent Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.66%. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is 22.40%.

Insider Activity at Agilent Technologies

In related news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,911 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total transaction of $286,650.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 39,652 shares in the company, valued at $5,947,800. This trade represents a 4.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A has been the subject of a number of research reports. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $157.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Barclays reduced their price target on Agilent Technologies from $145.00 to $135.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Agilent Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Agilent Technologies presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $143.62.

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.