Metis Global Partners LLC Increases Holdings in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Metis Global Partners LLC grew its holdings in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 4.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 15,924 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 727 shares during the quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $2,139,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in A. CKW Financial Group raised its stake in Agilent Technologies by 114.9% during the 4th quarter. CKW Financial Group now owns 187 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 161.1% during the fourth quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 188 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies during the third quarter worth about $31,000. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management lifted its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 66.5% in the 4th quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management now owns 263 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Finally, RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies in the 3rd quarter valued at about $38,000.

Insider Activity at Agilent Technologies

In related news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,911 shares of Agilent Technologies stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 39,652 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,947,800. The trade was a 4.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on A shares. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on Agilent Technologies from $161.00 to $159.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Agilent Technologies has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $146.15.

Agilent Technologies Price Performance

Shares of A opened at $127.83 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $36.47 billion, a PE ratio of 29.39, a P/E/G ratio of 3.46 and a beta of 1.07. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $140.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $139.18. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $124.16 and a twelve month high of $155.35. The company has a current ratio of 2.20, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The medical research company reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 25.56% and a net margin of 19.27%. Research analysts anticipate that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be issued a $0.248 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.78%. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.76%.

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.