KBC Group NV Has $11.06 Million Stake in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

KBC Group NV grew its holdings in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 3.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 82,338 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,567 shares during the quarter. KBC Group NV’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $11,062,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 3.5% during 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 buying an additional 525,214 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 1.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,819,897 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,903,498,000 after acquiring an additional 158,175 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 0.4% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,948,679 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,028,241,000 after acquiring an additional 30,610 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in Agilent Technologies by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,198,715 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $431,603,000 after purchasing an additional 80,819 shares during the period. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 6.6% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,976,905 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $442,011,000 after purchasing an additional 183,716 shares during the last quarter.

Insider Activity

In other Agilent Technologies news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,911 shares of Agilent Technologies stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total value of $286,650.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Agilent Technologies Stock Down 2.1 %

Agilent Technologies stock opened at $147.20 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $139.40 and a 200-day moving average of $138.50. The company has a quick ratio of 1.58, a current ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $124.16 and a twelve month high of $155.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.04 billion, a PE ratio of 33.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.12 and a beta of 1.06.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last released its earnings results 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. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 25.43% and a net margin of 19.80%. The firm had revenue of $1.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.67 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.38 EPS. The company’s revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a dividend of $0.248 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. This is an increase from Agilent Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.67%. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is 22.40%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on A shares. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $145.00 to $135.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price target on Agilent Technologies from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Agilent Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. One equities research 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Agilent Technologies currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price 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.