Bayesian Capital Management LP Makes New $1.36 Million Investment in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Bayesian Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 9,309 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,355,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Agilent Technologies by 18.2% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,884,345 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $4,348,471,000 after purchasing an additional 4,605,228 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in Agilent Technologies by 19.6% during the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 13,246,489 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,841,659,000 after purchasing an additional 2,170,219 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in Agilent Technologies by 13.9% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,542,054 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,242,956,000 after purchasing an additional 1,042,926 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Agilent Technologies during the fourth quarter worth about $509,904,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in Agilent Technologies by 4.4% during the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,783,238 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $406,715,000 after purchasing an additional 116,822 shares during the last quarter.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on A shares. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $135.00 target price (down previously from $152.00) on shares of Agilent Technologies in a research note on Monday, June 3rd. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Agilent Technologies from $126.00 to $130.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 2nd. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Agilent Technologies from $147.00 to $136.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Stifel Nicolaus lowered their target price on Agilent Technologies from $163.00 to $151.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Agilent Technologies from $165.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $138.06.

Insider Buying and Selling at Agilent Technologies

In other Agilent Technologies news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,958 shares of the 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 25,185 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,274,050. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Dominique Grau sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.28, for a total value of $1,999,200.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 49,486 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,595,494.08. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,958 shares of the firm’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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 25,185 shares in the company, valued at $3,274,050. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 18,916 shares of company stock worth $2,527,860.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

Agilent Technologies stock opened at $139.49 on Wednesday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $40.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.98, a PEG ratio of 4.67 and a beta of 1.05. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $133.93 and its 200 day moving average is $137.75. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $96.80 and a twelve month high of $155.35.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last posted its quarterly 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. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 26.25% and a net margin of 18.84%. The company had revenue of $1.57 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.58 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.27 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 24th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.236 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 2nd. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.68%. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is 22.22%.

Agilent Technologies 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.