LGT Capital Partners LTD. Has $187.17 Million Position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

LGT Capital Partners LTD. grew its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 17.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,346,234 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 199,532 shares during the quarter. Agilent Technologies makes up 5.6% of LGT Capital Partners LTD.’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest holding. LGT Capital Partners LTD. owned about 0.46% of Agilent Technologies worth $187,167,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ritholtz Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $255,000. Everett Harris & Co. CA bought a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies in the 4th quarter worth $211,000. WASHINGTON TRUST Co lifted its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 1,187.8% in the fourth quarter. WASHINGTON TRUST Co now owns 1,481 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $206,000 after buying an additional 1,366 shares during the period. Courier Capital LLC bought a new position in Agilent Technologies during the fourth quarter valued at about $241,000. Finally, PFG Investments LLC acquired a new position in Agilent Technologies during the fourth quarter worth about $206,000.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of A opened at $145.46 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $42.63 billion, a PE ratio of 34.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.46 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 2.68 and a quick ratio of 2.04. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a one year low of $96.80 and a one year high of $151.58. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $137.98 and its 200 day moving average price is $126.28.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 27th. The medical research company reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.22 by $0.07. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 27.09% and a net margin of 18.35%. The firm had revenue of $1.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.59 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.37 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 24th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 2nd will be issued a $0.236 dividend. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.65%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, April 1st. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.38%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on A. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $67.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $132.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. Citigroup upped their target price on Agilent Technologies from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. TheStreet raised Agilent Technologies from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a research note on Friday, December 8th. Finally, Bank of America lowered shares of Agilent Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $130.00 to $133.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 12th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $138.29.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Michael R. Mcmullen sold 52,297 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total value of $7,844,550.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 253,909 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $38,086,350. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, VP Rodney Gonsalves sold 4,828 shares of Agilent Technologies stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $149.00, for a total value of $719,372.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 21,329 shares in the company, valued at $3,178,021. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Michael R. Mcmullen sold 52,297 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total transaction of $7,844,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 253,909 shares in the company, valued at $38,086,350. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 61,610 shares of company stock worth $9,220,333.

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.