Kingfisher Capital LLC Decreases Stake in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Kingfisher Capital LLC reduced its position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 6.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 22,751 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 1,623 shares during the period. Kingfisher Capital LLC’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $3,378,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vinva Investment Management Ltd grew its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 34.4% in the third quarter. Vinva Investment Management Ltd now owns 13,453 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,992,000 after purchasing an additional 3,440 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 12.4% during the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 12,672 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,882,000 after purchasing an additional 1,400 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 4.8% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,948,536 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $437,799,000 after buying an additional 136,184 shares in the last quarter. Noesis Capital Mangement Corp increased its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter. Noesis Capital Mangement Corp now owns 115,307 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $17,121,000 after purchasing an additional 7,714 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 2.4% in the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 184,483 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $27,392,000 after acquiring an additional 4,287 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 87.42% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Agilent Technologies

In related news, SVP Dominique Grau sold 9,990 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.00, for a total value of $1,448,550.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 40,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,801,595. The trade was a 19.98 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently issued reports on A. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $151.00 price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies in a report on Monday, August 26th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, UBS Group upped their target price on Agilent Technologies from $141.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $143.40.

Agilent Technologies Trading Up 2.8 %

Shares of A opened at $138.14 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $137.65 and its 200 day moving average price is $137.44. The company has a quick ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $124.10 and a 12-month high of $155.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.66, a P/E/G ratio of 5.91 and a beta of 1.07.

Agilent Technologies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a $0.248 dividend. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 31st. This is a positive change from Agilent Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Agilent Technologies’s payout ratio is 20.54%.

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.