Toronto Dominion Bank Purchases 8,420 Shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Toronto Dominion Bank boosted its position in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) by 5.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 153,898 shares of the medical research company's stock after buying an additional 8,420 shares during the quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank owned approximately 0.05% of Agilent Technologies worth $20,674,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in Agilent Technologies by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 9,306,805 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,250,276,000 after acquiring an additional 59,781 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,002,671 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $938,291,000 after purchasing an additional 53,992 shares in the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 5,213,739 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $700,414,000 after purchasing an additional 47,495 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG increased its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 4,436,700 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $596,026,000 after buying an additional 38,348 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in Agilent Technologies by 12.3% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,192,790 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $563,259,000 after buying an additional 457,713 shares in the last quarter.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of A stock opened at $113.32 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 2.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $110.31 and a 200-day moving average price of $127.99. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $96.43 and a 52 week high of $154.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $32.31 billion, a PE ratio of 26.05, a P/E/G ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 1.27.

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

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 1st were given a dividend of $0.248 per share. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 1st. Agilent Technologies's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.76%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Agilent Technologies news, VP Rodney Gonsalves sold 1,908 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,657,456.28. This trade represents a 8.05% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Daniel K. Podolsky sold 1,819 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 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.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $116.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Agilent Technologies from $155.00 to $135.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $161.00 to $159.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies to $135.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $138.00 to $115.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $143.00.

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.

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