Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado Reduces Position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado cut its position in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 4.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 42,150 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 1,764 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $6,133,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bellevue Group AG boosted its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 48.8% during the 1st quarter. Bellevue Group AG now owns 540 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $79,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares during the period. Bamco Inc. NY boosted its position in Agilent Technologies by 8.5% in the 1st quarter. Bamco Inc. NY now owns 76,469 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $11,127,000 after buying an additional 5,960 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its position in Agilent Technologies by 13.9% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,542,054 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,242,956,000 after buying an additional 1,042,926 shares during the period. Magnetar Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies in the 1st quarter worth approximately $550,000. Finally, Epoch Investment Partners Inc. lifted its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 22.8% in the 1st quarter. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. now owns 418,116 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $60,840,000 after purchasing an additional 77,689 shares during the period.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

Agilent Technologies stock traded down $0.15 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $137.17. 672,656 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,768,252. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 2.15 and a quick ratio of 1.64. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $96.80 and a fifty-two week high of $155.35. The company has a market capitalization of $40.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.67 and a beta of 1.05. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $134.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $137.63.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 29th. The medical research company reported $1.22 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.03. Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 18.84% and a return on equity of 26.25%. The business had revenue of $1.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.58 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.27 EPS. Agilent Technologies’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 24th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 2nd were issued a $0.236 dividend. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 2nd. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.22%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on A shares. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $134.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 25th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $135.00 price target (down previously from $152.00) on shares of Agilent Technologies in a research report on Monday, June 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $163.00 to $151.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $153.00 price target on shares of Agilent Technologies in a research report on Monday. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $125.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $138.06.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Dominique Grau sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.28, for a total value of $1,999,200.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 49,486 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,595,494.08. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,958 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.00, for a total transaction of $254,540.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 25,185 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,274,050. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Dominique Grau sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.28, for a total transaction of $1,999,200.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 49,486 shares in the company, valued at $6,595,494.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

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.