ING Groep NV Has $20.91 Million Holdings in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

ING Groep NV grew its stake in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 298.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 155,622 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 116,602 shares during the period. ING Groep NV owned about 0.05% of Agilent Technologies worth $20,906,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. CKW Financial Group grew its position in Agilent Technologies by 114.9% in the 4th quarter. CKW Financial Group now owns 187 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. grew its position in Agilent Technologies by 161.1% in the 4th quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 188 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Agilent Technologies in the 3rd quarter worth $31,000. Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its position in Agilent Technologies by 68.3% in the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 234 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Finally, RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Agilent Technologies in the 3rd quarter worth $38,000.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,911 shares of Agilent Technologies stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 39,652 shares in the company, valued at $5,947,800. The trade was a 4.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Agilent Technologies Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of A stock opened at $136.74 on Friday. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $124.16 and a 12-month high of $155.35. The company has a market capitalization of $39.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.94, a P/E/G ratio of 3.66 and a beta of 1.07. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $141.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $139.28. The company has a quick ratio of 1.58, a current ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57.

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, topping 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 company had revenue of $1.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.38 earnings per share. The company’s 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 Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be paid a $0.248 dividend. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.40%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have issued reports on A. Bank of America decreased 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. StockNews.com raised shares of Agilent Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $144.38.

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.