Epoch Investment Partners Inc. Has $60.84 Million Stake in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Epoch Investment Partners Inc. boosted its position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 22.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 418,116 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 77,689 shares during the period. Epoch Investment Partners Inc. owned approximately 0.14% of Agilent Technologies worth $60,840,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of A. Ballentine Partners LLC increased its stake in Agilent Technologies by 2.5% in the first quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 2,963 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $431,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Haverford Trust Co increased its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 1.7% during the first quarter. Haverford Trust Co now owns 4,423 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $644,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management increased its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 2,421 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $337,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Carmel Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Carmel Capital Partners LLC now owns 6,709 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $933,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Monumental Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Monumental Financial Group Inc. now owns 9,493 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $1,320,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares in the last quarter.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $126.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 2nd. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $163.00 to $151.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $147.00 to $136.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $163.00 to $153.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $134.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $138.06.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

A traded up $2.34 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $137.32. The company had a trading volume of 1,717,670 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,005,359. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $134.57 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $137.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a current ratio of 2.15. The stock has a market cap of $40.06 billion, a PE ratio of 32.46, a P/E/G ratio of 4.67 and a beta of 1.05. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $96.80 and a 12-month high of $155.35.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 29th. The medical research company reported $1.22 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $1.57 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.58 billion. Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 18.84% and a return on equity of 26.25%. Agilent Technologies’s revenue was down 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.27 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.24 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 24th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 2nd were issued a $0.236 dividend. This represents a $0.94 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 2nd. Agilent Technologies’s payout ratio is 22.22%.

Insider Transactions at Agilent Technologies

In other news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,958 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.00, for a total value of $254,540.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 25,185 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,274,050. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, SVP Dominique Grau sold 15,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.28, for a total transaction of $1,999,200.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 49,486 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,595,494.08. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,958 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.00, for a total transaction of $254,540.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 25,185 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,274,050. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

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.