Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Has $4.72 Million Position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 7.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 36,410 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,493 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $4,720,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in A. Andra AP fonden grew its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 12.7% in the second quarter. Andra AP fonden now owns 215,500 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $27,935,000 after purchasing an additional 24,200 shares during the last quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC grew its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 7.9% in the 2nd quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 5,605 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $727,000 after buying an additional 408 shares during the last quarter. Invesco LLC increased its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 2.3% in the second quarter. Invesco LLC now owns 18,815 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $2,439,000 after buying an additional 428 shares during the period. Liberty Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies during the second quarter worth about $9,586,000. Finally, Choreo LLC bought a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies during the second quarter worth about $1,057,000. 87.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Agilent Technologies

In other Agilent Technologies news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,958 shares of Agilent Technologies stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.00, for a total transaction of $283,910.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 24,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,497,110. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

NYSE A opened at $136.43 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $136.53 and a 200 day simple moving average of $139.14. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $96.80 and a 12-month high of $155.35. The company has a market cap of $39.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.25, a PEG ratio of 6.36 and a beta of 1.05.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Wolfe Research downgraded shares of Agilent Technologies from an “outperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 27th. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a “hold” rating and issued a $135.00 price objective (down from $152.00) on shares of Agilent Technologies in a research report on Monday, June 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on Agilent Technologies in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $157.00 target price on the stock. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $141.60.

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.