Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC Acquires New Position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC bought a new position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund bought 333,034 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $49,449,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Wahed Invest LLC increased its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 12.0% in the third quarter. Wahed Invest LLC now owns 7,112 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,054,000 after buying an additional 763 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its position in Agilent Technologies by 31.3% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 104,900 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $15,576,000 after acquiring an additional 25,000 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in Agilent Technologies by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,819,897 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,903,498,000 after purchasing an additional 158,175 shares during the period. Stevens Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Agilent Technologies in the third quarter valued at approximately $476,000. Finally, Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 28.9% during the third quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 69,211 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $10,277,000 after purchasing an additional 15,533 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.42% of the company’s stock.

Agilent Technologies Price Performance

A opened at $137.86 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $39.61 billion, a PE ratio of 31.19, a P/E/G ratio of 4.42 and a beta of 1.07. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $137.38 and a 200-day moving average price of $136.97. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $124.16 and a 1 year high of $155.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 2.09 and a quick ratio of 1.58.

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

Agilent Technologies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a $0.248 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This is a boost from Agilent Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.72%. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is 22.40%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Agilent Technologies

In other Agilent Technologies news, SVP Dominique Grau sold 9,990 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.00, for a total value of $1,448,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 40,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,801,595. The trade was a 19.98 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on A. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $151.00 price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Barclays cut their target price on Agilent Technologies from $145.00 to $135.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on Agilent Technologies in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $157.00 price target for the company. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their price objective 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $143.40.

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.