Toronto Dominion Bank Raises Holdings in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Toronto Dominion Bank lifted its stake in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) by 5.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor 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 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. GF Fund Management CO. LTD. purchased a new stake in Agilent Technologies during the fourth quarter valued at $935,000. Vega Investment Solutions purchased a new stake in Agilent Technologies during the fourth quarter valued at $3,204,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. raised its stake in Agilent Technologies by 640.0% during the fourth quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 222 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 192 shares in the last quarter. GTS Securities LLC raised its stake in Agilent Technologies by 104.9% during the fourth quarter. GTS Securities LLC now owns 2,380 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $320,000 after purchasing an additional 51,066 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vise Technologies Inc. purchased a new stake in Agilent Technologies during the fourth quarter valued at $320,000.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $116.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $159.00 to $140.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $160.00 to $155.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Leerink Partners increased their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies to $135.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies to $150.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $140.15.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Daniel K. Podolsky sold 1,819 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.46, for a total value of $211,840.74. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 35,737 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,161,931.02. This trade represents a 4.84% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Rodney Gonsalves sold 1,908 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 21,786 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,657,456.28. The trade was a 8.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Agilent Technologies Trading Down 1.3%

A stock traded down $1.45 during trading on Friday, hitting $111.83. The company had a trading volume of 4,751,122 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,957,412. The firm has a market capitalization of $31.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.61, a PEG ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 1.27. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 52-week low of $96.43 and a 52-week high of $153.84. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $108.61 and a 200-day simple moving average of $126.62. The company has a quick ratio of 1.66, a current ratio of 2.20 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The medical research company reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.26 by $0.05. Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 17.59% and a return on equity of 26.13%. The company had revenue of $1.67 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.63 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.22 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 23rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.248 per share. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.89%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, July 1st. Agilent Technologies's payout ratio 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.