iA Global Asset Management Inc. Reduces Stake in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

iA Global Asset Management Inc. reduced its stake in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 85.0% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 4,142 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 23,527 shares during the period. iA Global Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $556,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in A. Madison Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Agilent Technologies in the 4th quarter valued at $94,051,000. FMR LLC grew its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 62.2% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,287,665 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $191,193,000 after buying an additional 493,947 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Agilent Technologies in the 4th quarter valued at $48,172,000. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Agilent Technologies in the 3rd quarter valued at $49,449,000. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 8.7% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,235,263 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $434,625,000 after purchasing an additional 258,358 shares during the last quarter.

Insider Buying and Selling at Agilent Technologies

In other news, VP Rodney Gonsalves sold 1,908 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.98, for a total value of $232,737.84. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 21,786 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,657,456.28. This represents a 8.05 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,911 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total value of $286,650.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 39,652 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,947,800. The trade was a 4.60 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Bank of America decreased their price target on Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Agilent Technologies from $157.00 to $155.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 9th. StockNews.com raised Agilent Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th. Barclays raised Agilent Technologies from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $135.00 to $145.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Agilent Technologies from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Agilent Technologies has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $146.15.

Agilent Technologies Price Performance

A opened at $120.72 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.20, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The firm has a market cap of $34.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.75, a PEG ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 1.11. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $136.74 and its 200 day moving average price is $137.29. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $117.17 and a 12-month high of $155.35.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The medical research company reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 25.56% and a net margin of 19.27%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be given a $0.248 dividend. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.76%.

Agilent Technologies Company 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.