Bank of Nova Scotia Grows Holdings in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Bank of Nova Scotia lifted its holdings in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) by 30.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 140,344 shares of the medical research company's stock after acquiring an additional 33,008 shares during the quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia's holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $18,854,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. CKW Financial Group increased its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 114.9% in the fourth quarter. CKW Financial Group now owns 187 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 161.1% in the 4th quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 188 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the last quarter. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management raised its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 66.5% during the fourth quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management now owns 263 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. 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 research report on Thursday, April 10th. StockNews.com raised Agilent Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies to $135.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies to $165.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Agilent Technologies from $161.00 to $159.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $146.25.

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Agilent Technologies Stock Down 1.6 %

Agilent Technologies stock traded down $1.73 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $103.46. The stock had a trading volume of 332,783 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,076,397. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a one year low of $96.43 and a one year high of $155.35. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $122.90 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $133.54. The company has a market capitalization of $29.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.78, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 2.20 and a quick ratio of 1.66.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The medical research company reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.27 by $0.04. Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 19.27% and a return on equity of 25.56%. The firm had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. On average, analysts expect that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be given a dividend of $0.248 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.96%. Agilent Technologies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.76%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,911 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total transaction of $286,650.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 39,652 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,947,800. This represents a 4.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Daniel K. Podolsky sold 1,819 shares of Agilent Technologies stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director now directly owns 35,737 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,161,931.02. The trade was a 4.84 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 5,638 shares of company stock worth $731,229.

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.