Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) Shares Acquired by Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board

Key Points

• Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board significantly increased its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 427.1% in Q1, acquiring a total of 14,728 shares worth approximately $1.72 million.
• Several hedge funds adjusted their positions in Agilent, with APG Asset Management N.V. achieving the largest increase at 1,010.8%, leading to ownership of 174,858 shares valued at about $22.69 million.
• Agilent Technologies reported a quarterly revenue increase of 6.0% year-over-year to $1.67 billion and beat analysts' EPS estimates, achieving $1.31 per share, exceeding the consensus by $0.05.

Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board lifted its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) by 427.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 14,728 shares of the medical research company's stock after buying an additional 11,934 shares during the period. Ontario Teachers Pension Plan Board's holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $1,723,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 4,663 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $626,000 after purchasing an additional 270 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC raised its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 38.6% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 68,899 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $9,477,000 after purchasing an additional 19,203 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 6.0% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,108,201 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $283,216,000 after purchasing an additional 120,111 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia raised its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 30.8% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 140,344 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $18,854,000 after purchasing an additional 33,008 shares in the last quarter. Finally, APG Asset Management N.V. increased its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 1,010.8% in the fourth quarter. APG Asset Management N.V. now owns 174,858 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $22,685,000 after buying an additional 159,117 shares in the last quarter.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on A. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $155.00 to $135.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 17th. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $150.00 to $130.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $159.00 to $140.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Leerink Partners increased their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies to $135.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $116.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $139.77.

Insider Transactions at Agilent Technologies

In related news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,508 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.44, for a total transaction of $177,099.52. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 37,448 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,397,893.12. This trade represents a 3.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Agilent Technologies Trading Up 0.6%

Shares of A opened at $113.88 on Friday. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 1-year low of $96.43 and a 1-year high of $153.84. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $117.34 and a 200-day simple moving average of $119.92. The stock has a market cap of $32.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55, a current ratio of 2.09 and a quick ratio of 1.60.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The medical research company reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.26 by $0.05. Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 17.59% and a return on equity of 25.92%. The firm had revenue of $1.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.63 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.22 earnings per share. Agilent Technologies's revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 23rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 1st were given a dividend of $0.248 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 1st. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. Agilent Technologies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 24.44%.

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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