TCW Group Inc. Has $4.48 Million Stake in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

TCW Group Inc. lessened its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 26.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 32,184 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 11,512 shares during the period. TCW Group Inc.’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $4,480,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Gotham Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 246.7% in the 3rd quarter. Gotham Asset Management LLC now owns 54,437 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $6,087,000 after buying an additional 38,737 shares during the period. DAVENPORT & Co LLC raised its position in Agilent Technologies by 77.7% during the fourth quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 4,882 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $679,000 after purchasing an additional 2,135 shares in the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp lifted its stake in Agilent Technologies by 259.9% during the third quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 119,582 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $13,375,000 after purchasing an additional 86,355 shares during the last quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 20.9% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 64,155 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $7,174,000 after purchasing an additional 11,075 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Findlay Park Partners LLP raised its stake in Agilent Technologies by 20.2% during the fourth quarter. Findlay Park Partners LLP now owns 1,151,410 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $160,081,000 after acquiring an additional 193,647 shares in the last quarter.

Agilent Technologies Price Performance

Shares of A traded up $0.11 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $150.66. 784,333 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,280,669. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $96.80 and a 1 year high of $155.35. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $144.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $136.01. The company has a current ratio of 2.68, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41. The company has a market cap of $44.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.04 and a beta of 1.13.

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

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 24th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 2nd will be given a $0.236 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 2nd. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.63%. Agilent Technologies’s payout ratio is currently 22.38%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Barclays boosted their price target on Agilent Technologies from $125.00 to $135.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Stifel Nicolaus upgraded Agilent Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $145.00 to $163.00 in a report on Friday, April 5th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $130.00 to $155.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 28th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $132.00 to $145.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Thursday, April 4th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Agilent Technologies presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $141.06.

Insider Activity

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

About Agilent Technologies

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.