Bank of Montreal Can Grows Stock Position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Bank of Montreal Can increased its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 54.8% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 297,658 shares of the medical research company’s stock after buying an additional 105,336 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $44,071,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new position in Agilent Technologies during the third quarter worth $28,000. Crewe Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 114.8% during the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 189 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Agilent Technologies in the third quarter valued at $31,000. Ridgewood Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Agilent Technologies in the second quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Fortitude Family Office LLC grew its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 68.3% in the third quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 234 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.42% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Citigroup upped their target price on Agilent Technologies from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. StockNews.com lowered Agilent Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $151.00 target price on shares of Agilent Technologies in a report on Monday, August 26th. TD Cowen upped their target price on Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein lowered their target price on Agilent Technologies from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $143.40.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

NYSE A opened at $138.14 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $137.65 and its 200 day moving average price is $137.44. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $124.10 and a twelve month high of $155.35. The company has a market capitalization of $39.69 billion, a PE ratio of 28.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.91 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a current ratio of 1.78, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36.

Agilent Technologies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be given a dividend of $0.248 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This is an increase from Agilent Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.72%. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is 20.54%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Dominique Grau sold 9,990 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $145.00, for a total value of $1,448,550.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 40,011 shares in the company, valued at $5,801,595. This trade represents a 19.98 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.