Magnetar Financial LLC Takes $550,000 Position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Magnetar Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 3,783 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $550,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in A. Livelsberger Financial Advisory purchased a new position in Agilent Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. MV Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 120.7% during the 4th quarter. MV Capital Management Inc. now owns 192 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the period. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in Agilent Technologies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Rise Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 527.8% in the 1st quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 226 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares during the period. Finally, YHB Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in Agilent Technologies in the first quarter valued at approximately $34,000.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on A shares. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $163.00 to $151.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $165.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Agilent Technologies from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 27th. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $135.00 price target (down from $152.00) on shares of Agilent Technologies in a report on Monday, June 3rd. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $126.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $138.06.

Insider Activity at Agilent Technologies

In other Agilent Technologies news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,958 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.00, for a total value of $254,540.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 25,185 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,274,050. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Agilent Technologies news, SVP Dominique Grau sold 15,000 shares of the 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 in the company, valued at $6,595,494.08. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,958 shares of Agilent Technologies stock in a transaction on Monday, June 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.00, for a total transaction of $254,540.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 25,185 shares in the company, valued at $3,274,050. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Agilent Technologies Price Performance

NYSE:A traded down $1.32 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $136.00. The company had a trading volume of 59,194 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,763,926. The company has a quick ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 2.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $134.57 and a two-hundred day moving average of $137.63. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a one year low of $96.80 and a one year high of $155.35. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.68 billion, a PE ratio of 32.46, a PEG ratio of 4.67 and a beta of 1.05.

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

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 24th. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 2nd were given a dividend of $0.236 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 2nd. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.69%. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.22%.

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.