Principal Financial Group Inc. Has $57.06 Million Holdings in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 83.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 384,286 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 1,881,053 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.13% of Agilent Technologies worth $57,059,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Graypoint LLC bought a new stake in Agilent Technologies during the third quarter worth approximately $229,000. M&G PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. M&G PLC now owns 274,738 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $40,661,000 after buying an additional 973 shares during the period. Maia Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies during the 3rd quarter worth $173,000. Catalina Capital Group LLC acquired a new position in Agilent Technologies in the 3rd quarter valued at $220,000. Finally, Amalgamated Bank raised its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 3.1% in the 3rd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 61,060 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $9,066,000 after acquiring an additional 1,862 shares during the period.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have commented on A shares. Bank of America lifted their price target on Agilent Technologies from $140.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $141.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on shares of Agilent Technologies in a research note on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $157.00 target price for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $144.36.

Agilent Technologies Trading Down 2.1 %

Shares of A stock opened at $136.68 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $39.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.36, a P/E/G ratio of 6.06 and a beta of 1.07. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $104.09 and a 12-month high of $155.35. The company has a quick ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $139.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $138.21.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 21st. The medical research company reported $1.32 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.26 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $1.58 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.56 billion. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 25.26% and a net margin of 21.75%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.43 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 23rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st were issued a $0.236 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 1st. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.69%. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 19.50%.

Insider Transactions at Agilent Technologies

In other Agilent Technologies news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,958 shares of Agilent Technologies stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.00, for a total value of $283,910.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 24,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,497,110. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Dominique Grau sold 9,990 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.00, for a total transaction of $1,448,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 40,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,801,595. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,958 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.00, for a total value of $283,910.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 24,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,497,110. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 11,995 shares of company stock valued at $1,739,510 over the last 90 days.

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.