JLB & Associates Inc. Has $3.41 Million Position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

JLB & Associates Inc. raised its position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 14.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 25,382 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,169 shares during the period. JLB & Associates Inc.’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $3,410,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $442,011,000 after purchasing an additional 183,716 shares in the last quarter. Vestal Point Capital LP acquired a new stake in Agilent Technologies during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $14,848,000. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in Agilent Technologies by 29.8% in the third quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 30,978 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $4,592,000 after buying an additional 7,111 shares in the last quarter. S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 12.7% in the fourth quarter. S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC now owns 42,587 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $5,721,000 after buying an additional 4,805 shares during the period. Finally, National Pension Service increased its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 10.8% during the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 702,631 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $104,327,000 after acquiring an additional 68,670 shares in the last quarter.

Insider Activity at Agilent Technologies

In other Agilent Technologies news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,911 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Agilent Technologies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE A opened at $136.74 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.58, a current ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $141.04 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $139.28. The company has a market cap of $39.01 billion, a PE ratio of 30.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.66 and a beta of 1.07. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $124.16 and a twelve month high of $155.35.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last posted its earnings results on Monday, November 25th. The medical research company reported $1.46 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $1.70 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.38 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.56 EPS for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.248 per share. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.73%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.40%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on A. StockNews.com raised shares of Agilent Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 24th. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Agilent Technologies from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $144.38.

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.