Bank of Montreal Can Has $39.55 Million Stock Holdings in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Bank of Montreal Can cut its stake in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) by 1.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 294,415 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 3,243 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can owned 0.10% of Agilent Technologies worth $39,552,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. CKW Financial Group raised its holdings in 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 last quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 161.1% during the 4th quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 188 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 116 shares during the period. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management lifted its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 66.5% in the fourth quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management now owns 263 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 105 shares during the period. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in Agilent Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. 87.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Agilent Technologies Stock Up 2.4 %

A stock traded up $2.48 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $105.19. 1,906,745 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,858,790. The company has a market cap of $29.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.18, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.19. The firm's 50-day moving average is $123.76 and its 200-day moving average is $133.84. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $96.43 and a 12 month high of $155.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 2.20 and a quick ratio of 1.66.

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Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A - Get Free Report) last announced its 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 business 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%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.55 earnings per share for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.94%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. Agilent Technologies's dividend payout ratio is presently 22.76%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on A shares. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on Agilent Technologies from $161.00 to $159.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Citigroup raised their target price on Agilent Technologies to $165.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. StockNews.com raised Agilent Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies to $135.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $138.00 to $115.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $146.25.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Agilent Technologies news, Director Daniel K. Podolsky sold 1,819 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.46, for a total value of $211,840.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 35,737 shares in the company, valued at $4,161,931.02. This trade represents a 4.84 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Rodney Gonsalves sold 1,908 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.98, for a total value of $232,737.84. Following the sale, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 5,638 shares of company stock worth $731,229. 0.26% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.