Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) Stock Position Trimmed by Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp trimmed its position in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 3.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 169,707 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 5,927 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp owned 0.06% of Agilent Technologies worth $22,798,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp boosted its position in Agilent Technologies by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,819,897 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,903,498,000 after acquiring an additional 158,175 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted 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 worth $1,028,241,000 after purchasing an additional 30,610 shares during the period. Cantillon Capital Management LLC grew its position in Agilent Technologies by 0.5% in 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 buying an additional 17,627 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in Agilent Technologies by 8.7% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,235,263 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $434,625,000 after buying an additional 258,358 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 2.6% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,198,715 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $431,603,000 after buying an additional 80,819 shares in the last quarter.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Agilent Technologies news, VP Rodney Gonsalves sold 1,908 shares of the company’s 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,657,456.28. This represents a 8.05 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction of $286,650.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 39,652 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,947,800. This trade represents a 4.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Agilent Technologies Price Performance

A stock opened at $119.04 on Friday. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a one year low of $117.17 and a one year high of $155.35. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $134.91 and a two-hundred day moving average of $136.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $33.94 billion, a PE ratio of 27.37, a P/E/G ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a current ratio of 2.20, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The medical research company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.04. Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 19.27% and a return on equity of 25.56%. The business had revenue of $1.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. On average, analysts forecast that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be paid a $0.248 dividend. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.76%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently commented on A shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Agilent Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th. Citigroup increased their price target on Agilent Technologies to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $157.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 9th. Barclays raised Agilent Technologies from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their target price for the company from $135.00 to $145.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Agilent Technologies has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $150.83.

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.