Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) Shares Acquired by E Fund Management Co. Ltd.

E Fund Management Co. Ltd. increased its position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 4.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,142 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 135 shares during the quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $368,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 3.0% during the first quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,449 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $403,000 after purchasing an additional 102 shares during the period. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC raised its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 2.9% during the first quarter. Cary Street Partners Financial LLC now owns 3,688 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $431,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the period. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP raised its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 15.2% during the first quarter. Western Pacific Wealth Management LP now owns 873 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $102,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the period. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 5.1% during the first quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,406 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $281,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the period. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 2.6% during the first quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,784 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $560,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares during the period.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on A shares. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Agilent Technologies from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $116.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Agilent Technologies from $155.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on Agilent Technologies from $159.00 to $140.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 22nd. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on Agilent Technologies from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $139.77.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Agilent Technologies news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,508 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.44, for a total value of $177,099.52. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 37,448 shares in the company, valued at $4,397,893.12. The trade was a 3.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE A opened at $118.95 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $117.76 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $118.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 2.09 and a quick ratio of 1.60. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a one year low of $96.43 and a one year high of $153.84. The company has a market capitalization of $33.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.65 and a beta of 1.22.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The medical research company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.26 by $0.05. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 25.92% and a net margin of 17.59%. The firm had revenue of $1.67 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.63 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.22 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.58 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 23rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 1st were paid a $0.248 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 1st. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. Agilent Technologies’s payout ratio is 24.44%.

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.