BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp Sells 3,055 Shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp lessened its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) by 0.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 330,720 shares of the medical research company's stock after selling 3,055 shares during the quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp owned about 0.12% of Agilent Technologies worth $44,429,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of A. CKW Financial Group raised its stake 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 purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 161.1% during the 4th quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 188 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Redwood Park Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Hanson & Doremus Investment Management raised its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 66.5% in the fourth quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management now owns 263 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 105 shares in the last quarter.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $116.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Barclays cut their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $138.00 to $115.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies to $135.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. 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 research report on Thursday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $155.00 to $135.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 17th. 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, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $141.42.

Agilent Technologies Trading Down 1.0%

Shares of NYSE:A traded down $1.07 during trading on Monday, reaching $108.61. 1,690,973 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,929,574. The company has a current ratio of 2.20, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $96.43 and a 52-week high of $153.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $30.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.97, a P/E/G ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 1.27. The business's fifty day moving average is $109.43 and its 200-day moving average is $127.18.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The medical research company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $1.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 19.27% and a return on equity of 25.56%. As a group, analysts forecast that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.54 EPS for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 23rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, July 1st will be paid a $0.248 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 1st. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.91%. Agilent Technologies's payout ratio is presently 22.76%.

Insider Activity at Agilent Technologies

In other news, VP Rodney Gonsalves sold 1,908 shares of Agilent Technologies stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.98, for a total transaction of $232,737.84. Following the sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Daniel K. Podolsky sold 1,819 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 31st. The stock was 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 directly owns 35,737 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,161,931.02. The trade was a 4.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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.