CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co Grows Stock Holdings in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co lifted its holdings in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) by 4.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 331,599 shares of the medical research company's stock after acquiring an additional 15,080 shares during the period. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co owned 0.12% of Agilent Technologies worth $44,536,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. CKW Financial Group boosted its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 114.9% during the 4th quarter. CKW Financial Group now owns 187 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 161.1% during the fourth quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 188 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 116 shares during the period. Redwood Park Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Hanson & Doremus Investment Management lifted its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 66.5% during the 4th quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management now owns 263 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the last quarter.

Insider Transactions at Agilent Technologies

In other Agilent Technologies news, Director Daniel K. Podolsky sold 1,819 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.46, for a total transaction of $211,840.74. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 35,737 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,161,931.02. The trade was a 4.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Rodney Gonsalves sold 1,908 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.98, for a total transaction of $232,737.84. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 21,786 shares in the company, valued at $2,657,456.28. This represents a 8.05 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Agilent Technologies Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE A traded up $1.35 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $106.35. 504,985 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,065,378. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $96.43 and a 12 month high of $155.35. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $117.53 and a 200-day moving average price of $131.61. The company has a quick ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 2.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The company has a market cap of $30.32 billion, a PE ratio of 24.45, a PEG ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 1.19.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The medical research company reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $1.68 billion during 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%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.54 EPS for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st were given a $0.248 dividend. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.93%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 1st. Agilent Technologies's payout ratio is 22.76%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $116.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $161.00 to $159.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $155.00 to $135.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Barclays lowered their price target on Agilent Technologies from $138.00 to $115.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price objective on Agilent Technologies to $135.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $143.00.

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.