Nebula Research & Development LLC Buys 3,854 Shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Nebula Research & Development LLC grew its position in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 100.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 7,696 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 3,854 shares during the quarter. Nebula Research & Development LLC’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $1,034,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of A. Sienna Gestion boosted its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 29.8% during the 4th quarter. Sienna Gestion now owns 78,445 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $10,537,000 after acquiring an additional 17,991 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 8.5% in the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 33,898 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $4,554,000 after purchasing an additional 2,664 shares during the period. S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC lifted its position in Agilent Technologies by 12.7% during 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 purchasing an additional 4,805 shares in the last quarter. Prudential PLC grew its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 16.0% during the fourth quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 73,273 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $9,843,000 after purchasing an additional 10,128 shares during the period. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its position in Agilent Technologies by 9.8% in the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 43,862 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $5,892,000 after buying an additional 3,915 shares in the last quarter.

Agilent Technologies Price Performance

Shares of A stock opened at $106.31 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $116.40 and its 200 day moving average is $131.00. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $96.43 and a 1-year high of $155.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 2.20 and a quick ratio of 1.66. The company has a market cap of $30.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.44, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 1.19.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The medical research company reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.04. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 25.56% and a net margin of 19.27%. The business had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. Research analysts predict that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 1st were paid a $0.248 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.93%. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.76%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $161.00 to $159.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $155.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $116.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 21st. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on Agilent Technologies from $138.00 to $115.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $143.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Agilent Technologies news, Director Daniel K. Podolsky sold 1,819 shares of Agilent Technologies stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.46, for a total transaction of $211,840.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 35,737 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,161,931.02. This trade represents a 4.84 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Rodney Gonsalves sold 1,908 shares of Agilent Technologies stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.98, for a total value of $232,737.84. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 21,786 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,657,456.28. This represents a 8.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Agilent Technologies 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.