E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB Buys 900 Shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB increased its stake in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 7.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 13,200 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 900 shares during the period. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $1,773,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 6.6% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,976,905 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $442,011,000 after acquiring an additional 183,716 shares during the last quarter. Vestal Point Capital LP bought a new stake in Agilent Technologies during the 3rd quarter worth about $14,848,000. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its position in Agilent Technologies by 29.8% during the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 30,978 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $4,592,000 after purchasing an additional 7,111 shares during the period. S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 12.7% in the 4th 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Czech National Bank grew its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 59,456 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $8,828,000 after buying an additional 3,612 shares during the period.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Agilent Technologies news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,911 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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. The trade was a 4.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of A stock opened at $147.06 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a current ratio of 2.09. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $124.16 and a 52 week high of $155.35. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $140.80 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $138.96. The company has a market capitalization of $42.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 1.07.

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

Agilent Technologies Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on A. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Bank of America reduced their price target on Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, December 13th. StockNews.com upgraded Agilent Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Agilent Technologies from $157.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on Agilent Technologies from $145.00 to $135.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, November 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Agilent Technologies currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $143.62.

Agilent Technologies Company 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.