National Bank of Canada FI Grows Position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Key Points

• National Bank of Canada FI increased its stake in Agilent Technologies by 66.5%, holding approximately $26.20 million worth of shares after acquiring additional shares in the first quarter.
• Agilent Technologies reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the latest quarter, surpassing analyst expectations of $1.26, and its revenues rose by 6.0% year-over-year to $1.67 billion.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.248 per share, equating to an annualized dividend yield of 0.9% and a payout ratio of 24.44%.

National Bank of Canada FI grew its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) by 66.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 223,973 shares of the medical research company's stock after purchasing an additional 89,428 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI owned about 0.08% of Agilent Technologies worth $26,200,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of A. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 15,648.1% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 627,247 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $73,375,000 after buying an additional 623,264 shares in the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP boosted 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 valued at $103,428,000 after purchasing an additional 597,249 shares in the last quarter. Iron Triangle Partners LP acquired a new position in Agilent Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $80,110,000. Marshall Wace LLP boosted 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 valued at $108,398,000 after purchasing an additional 594,744 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted 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 valued at $109,481,000 after purchasing an additional 548,344 shares in the last quarter.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on A. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Agilent Technologies from $155.00 to $135.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 17th. TD Cowen upped their price target on Agilent Technologies to $150.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Barclays upped their price target on Agilent Technologies from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Leerink Partners upped their price target on Agilent Technologies to $135.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 30th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $159.00 to $140.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $139.77.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of Agilent Technologies stock traded up $0.04 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $118.91. 265,018 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,964,894. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $96.43 and a 1 year high of $153.84. The company has a current ratio of 2.09, a quick ratio of 1.60 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The business has a 50-day moving average of $117.76 and a 200-day moving average of $118.72. The stock has a market capitalization of $33.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.35, a P/E/G ratio of 3.65 and a beta of 1.22.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.63 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.22 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 6.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 23rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 1st were paid a dividend of $0.248 per share. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 1st. Agilent Technologies's dividend payout ratio is 24.44%.

Insider Activity at Agilent Technologies

In other 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 transaction of $177,099.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 37,448 shares in the company, valued at $4,397,893.12. This represents a 3.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

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.