Invesco LLC Has $2.90 Million Stock Holdings in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Invesco LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 12.9% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 21,602 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,461 shares during the period. Agilent Technologies makes up approximately 1.2% of Invesco LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. Invesco LLC’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $2,902,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 3.5% in 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 purchasing an additional 525,214 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its stake in Agilent Technologies by 62.2% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,287,665 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $191,193,000 after buying an additional 493,947 shares during the last quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies in the third quarter valued at approximately $49,449,000. Jennison Associates LLC grew its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 63.3% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 586,439 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $87,075,000 after acquiring an additional 227,431 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ilex Capital Partners UK LLP bought a new stake in Agilent Technologies during the third quarter worth $33,087,000.

Agilent Technologies Price Performance

NYSE:A traded down $2.22 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $148.12. The stock had a trading volume of 246,662 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,690,995. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $139.40 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $138.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.56, a P/E/G ratio of 4.12 and a beta of 1.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a current ratio of 2.09 and a quick ratio of 1.58. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a one year low of $124.16 and a one year high of $155.35.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last announced its earnings results on Monday, November 25th. The medical research company reported $1.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.05. Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 19.80% and a return on equity of 25.43%. The business had revenue of $1.70 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.38 earnings per share. Agilent Technologies’s quarterly revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were given a $0.248 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. This is a positive change from Agilent Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.67%. Agilent Technologies’s payout ratio is 22.40%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on A. Barclays decreased their target price on Agilent Technologies from $145.00 to $135.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 27th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $157.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Agilent Technologies from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Agilent Technologies currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $143.62.

Insider Buying and Selling at Agilent Technologies

In related news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,911 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

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.