Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI Purchases 320 Shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI boosted its position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 17.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 2,144 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 320 shares during the quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $289,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. CKW Financial Group boosted its position in Agilent Technologies by 114.9% in the fourth quarter. CKW Financial Group now owns 187 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Agilent Technologies by 161.1% in the fourth quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 188 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Agilent Technologies in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management boosted its position in Agilent Technologies by 66.5% in the fourth quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management now owns 263 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Finally, RPg Family Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Agilent Technologies in the third quarter valued at approximately $38,000. 87.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Agilent Technologies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE A opened at $126.64 on Thursday. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $121.45 and a twelve month high of $155.35. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $140.03 and a 200 day simple moving average of $138.87. The company has a market capitalization of $36.13 billion, a PE ratio of 29.11, a P/E/G ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a quick ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 2.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The medical research company reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.04. Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 19.27% and a return on equity of 25.56%. The business had revenue of $1.68 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.57 EPS for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.78%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.76%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on A. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price 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 cut their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Barclays upgraded shares of Agilent Technologies from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $135.00 to $145.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Agilent Technologies currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $146.15.

Insider Buying and Selling at Agilent Technologies

In other Agilent Technologies news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,911 shares of Agilent Technologies stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total value of $286,650.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 39,652 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,947,800. The trade was a 4.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

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.