The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Sells 9,494 Shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lessened its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) by 4.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 228,583 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 9,494 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned 0.08% of Agilent Technologies worth $33,940,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Menard Financial Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 1.6% during the second quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC now owns 4,845 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $628,000 after buying an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. McAdam LLC lifted its stake in Agilent Technologies by 3.1% during the 3rd quarter. McAdam LLC now owns 2,531 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $376,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. lifted its stake in Agilent Technologies by 13.5% during the 3rd quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 646 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $96,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 2,570 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $382,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rovin Capital UT ADV grew its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Rovin Capital UT ADV now owns 5,049 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $750,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares in the last quarter.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on A shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Agilent Technologies from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. StockNews.com cut Agilent Technologies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday. TD Cowen raised their target price on Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, August 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on shares of Agilent Technologies in a report on Tuesday, August 27th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $157.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $145.00 to $135.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $143.40.

Insider Buying and Selling at Agilent Technologies

In other news, SVP Dominique Grau sold 9,990 shares of the company'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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 40,011 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,801,595. This represents a 19.98 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

Agilent Technologies Price Performance

Shares of A traded down $0.17 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $137.97. 1,183,296 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,728,320. The company has a market cap of $39.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.38 and a beta of 1.07. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $124.16 and a 1 year high of $155.35. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $137.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $137.27. The company has a current ratio of 2.09, a quick ratio of 1.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57.

Agilent Technologies Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a $0.248 dividend. This is an increase from Agilent Technologies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. Agilent Technologies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.27%.

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.