Alberta Investment Management Corp Purchases 21,900 Shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Key Points

• Alberta Investment Management Corp significantly increased its stake in Agilent Technologies by 263.9%, now owning a total of 30,200 shares valued at approximately $3.53 million.
• Agilent Technologies reported a quarterly EPS of $1.31, exceeding estimates and showing a 6% year-over-year revenue growth with total revenue of $1.67 billion.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.248 per share, reflecting a 0.9% yield and a payout ratio of 24.44%.

Alberta Investment Management Corp lifted its position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) by 263.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 30,200 shares of the medical research company's stock after acquiring an additional 21,900 shares during the quarter. Alberta Investment Management Corp's holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $3,533,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in A. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 15,648.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 627,247 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $73,375,000 after purchasing an additional 623,264 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP raised its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 345.9% in the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 769,897 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $103,428,000 after purchasing an additional 597,249 shares in the last quarter. Iron Triangle Partners LP bought a new position in Agilent Technologies in the fourth quarter worth about $80,110,000. Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 280.3% in the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 806,895 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $108,398,000 after purchasing an additional 594,744 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 141.5% in the first quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 935,893 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $109,481,000 after purchasing an additional 548,344 shares in the last quarter.

Agilent Technologies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE A opened at $113.51 on Friday. The business's 50 day moving average price is $117.08 and its 200 day moving average price is $120.64. The firm has a market cap of $32.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.03, a P/E/G ratio of 3.44 and a beta of 1.22. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $96.43 and a 52 week high of $153.84. The company has a quick ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55.

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

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 23rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 1st were given a $0.248 dividend. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 1st. Agilent Technologies's dividend payout ratio is currently 24.44%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Agilent Technologies news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,508 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $117.44, for a total value 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 represents a 3.87% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently issued reports on A. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $160.00 to $155.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies to $150.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Agilent Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, June 28th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $139.77.

Agilent Technologies 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.

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