Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC Has $29.88 Million Stake in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC reduced its holdings in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 2.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 223,931 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 5,450 shares during the quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC owned about 0.08% of Agilent Technologies worth $29,879,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 15,589,874 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,314,784,000 after purchasing an additional 525,214 shares during the period. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 62.2% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,287,665 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $191,193,000 after buying an additional 493,947 shares during the period. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Agilent Technologies during the third quarter worth about $49,449,000. Jennison Associates LLC raised its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 63.3% in the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 586,439 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $87,075,000 after acquiring an additional 227,431 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ilex Capital Partners UK LLP bought a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,087,000.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on A. Barclays upgraded Agilent Technologies from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $135.00 to $145.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. StockNews.com raised shares of Agilent Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 24th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein decreased their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $144.38.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,911 shares of the business’s 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 directly owns 39,652 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,947,800. The trade was a 4.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

Agilent Technologies stock opened at $134.57 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $141.53 and a 200 day simple moving average of $139.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.45, a P/E/G ratio of 4.00 and a beta of 1.07. 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, Inc. has a 12-month low of $124.16 and a 12-month high of $155.35.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last announced its earnings results on Monday, November 25th. The medical research company reported $1.46 earnings per share (EPS) 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.38 earnings per share. Agilent Technologies’s quarterly revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st were given a dividend of $0.248 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.74%. This is an increase from Agilent Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Agilent Technologies’s payout ratio is presently 22.40%.

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.