Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Sells 22,684 Shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board trimmed its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) by 50.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 21,970 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 22,684 shares during the quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board's holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $2,951,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. CKW Financial Group lifted its position 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 valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. grew its stake in 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 worth $25,000 after buying an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Redwood Park Advisors LLC bought a new position in Agilent Technologies in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Hanson & Doremus Investment Management lifted its holdings 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 period.

Agilent Technologies Trading Up 2.6 %

NYSE A opened at $102.83 on Wednesday. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $96.43 and a 12 month high of $155.35. 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 capitalization of $29.32 billion, a PE ratio of 23.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 1.19. The business's 50-day moving average price is $118.12 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $131.80.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results 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 the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 19.27% and a return on equity of 25.56%. On average, analysts expect that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.54 EPS for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The company 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 dividend of $0.248 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.96%. Agilent Technologies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.76%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on A. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $161.00 to $159.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Agilent Technologies to $135.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Agilent Technologies from $155.00 to $135.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $116.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Monday. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of 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. Seven investment 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.com, Agilent Technologies 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.

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