Generali Asset Management SPA SGR Makes New $9.22 Million Investment in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Generali Asset Management SPA SGR acquired a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm acquired 68,627 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,219,000.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 3.5% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 15,589,874 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,314,784,000 after acquiring an additional 525,214 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 1.2% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,819,897 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,903,498,000 after buying an additional 158,175 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 worth $1,028,241,000 after buying an additional 30,610 shares during the period. Cantillon Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Agilent Technologies by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Cantillon Capital Management LLC now owns 3,316,557 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $445,546,000 after purchasing an additional 17,627 shares during the period. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in Agilent Technologies by 8.7% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,235,263 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $434,625,000 after acquiring an additional 258,358 shares during the last quarter.

Agilent Technologies Price Performance

Shares of A opened at $122.63 on Tuesday. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $117.17 and a 52-week high of $155.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a current ratio of 2.20. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $137.99 and a 200 day simple moving average of $137.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $34.96 billion, a PE ratio of 28.19, a P/E/G ratio of 3.40 and a beta of 1.11.

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

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be issued a $0.248 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.81%. Agilent Technologies’s payout ratio is currently 22.76%.

Insider Activity at Agilent Technologies

In related news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,911 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 39,652 shares in the company, valued at $5,947,800. This represents a 4.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on A shares. Bank of America cut their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein dropped their target price on Agilent Technologies from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Barclays upgraded Agilent Technologies from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $135.00 to $145.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $157.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on Agilent Technologies to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $146.15.

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.