Mackenzie Financial Corp Increases Position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) by 76.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 387,549 shares of the medical research company's stock after buying an additional 167,581 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp owned about 0.14% of Agilent Technologies worth $52,063,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC grew its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,663 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $626,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares during the period. CX Institutional boosted its position in Agilent Technologies by 6.4% during the fourth quarter. CX Institutional now owns 3,268 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $439,000 after acquiring an additional 196 shares during the last quarter. KFG Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Agilent Technologies during the fourth quarter worth about $283,000. Marshall Financial Group LLC boosted its position in Agilent Technologies by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Financial Group LLC now owns 8,571 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,151,000 after acquiring an additional 328 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management raised its stake in Agilent Technologies by 9.4% during the fourth quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 3,442 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $462,000 after purchasing an additional 296 shares during the period.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies to $150.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $155.00 to $135.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $138.00 to $115.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $160.00 to $155.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $159.00 to $140.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $140.58.

Agilent Technologies Stock Up 2.2%

Shares of Agilent Technologies stock traded up $2.39 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $113.27. The company had a trading volume of 3,837,412 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,943,312. The company's 50-day moving average is $108.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $126.76. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $96.43 and a twelve month high of $153.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a current ratio of 2.20 and a quick ratio of 1.66. The company has a market cap of $32.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.27.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The medical research company reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.26 by $0.05. Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 19.27% and a return on equity of 25.56%. The business had revenue of $1.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.63 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.22 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 23rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 1st will be given a $0.248 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 1st. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.88%. Agilent Technologies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.76%.

Insider Activity at Agilent Technologies

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

Agilent Technologies Company 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.