iA Global Asset Management Inc. Sells 23,527 Shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

iA Global Asset Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) by 85.0% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,142 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 23,527 shares during the period. iA Global Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $556,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sienna Gestion raised its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 29.8% in the 4th quarter. Sienna Gestion now owns 78,445 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $10,537,000 after acquiring an additional 17,991 shares in the last quarter. Vestal Point Capital LP acquired a new position in Agilent Technologies during the third quarter valued at approximately $14,848,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 8.5% in the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 33,898 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $4,554,000 after purchasing an additional 2,664 shares during the period. S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 12.7% in the fourth quarter. S.E.E.D. Planning Group LLC now owns 42,587 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $5,721,000 after buying an additional 4,805 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 16.0% during the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 49,288 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $6,621,000 after buying an additional 6,802 shares during the period.

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Agilent Technologies Price Performance

NYSE:A traded down $0.86 on Thursday, reaching $119.04. The stock had a trading volume of 2,075,716 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,684,361. 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 capitalization of $33.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 1.11. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $117.17 and a 1-year high of $155.35. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $135.43 and a 200-day moving average price of $136.92.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The medical research company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.04. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 25.56% and a net margin of 19.27%. The company had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. Research analysts forecast that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.57 EPS for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.248 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, April 1st. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.83%. Agilent Technologies's dividend payout ratio is currently 22.76%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Barclays upgraded shares of Agilent Technologies from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $135.00 to $145.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. Bank of America cut their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $150.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Agilent Technologies from $161.00 to $159.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $157.00 to $155.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 9th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Agilent Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $150.83.

Insider Buying and Selling at Agilent Technologies

In other news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,911 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total value of $286,650.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 39,652 shares in the company, valued at $5,947,800. This trade represents a 4.60 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, VP Rodney Gonsalves sold 1,908 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 21,786 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,657,456.28. This represents a 8.05 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

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.