Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. Has $45.41 Million Position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. lifted its position in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 5.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 338,019 shares of the medical research company’s stock after acquiring an additional 18,038 shares during the quarter. Agilent Technologies makes up 1.2% of Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest position. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. owned approximately 0.12% of Agilent Technologies worth $45,409,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new position in Agilent Technologies during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $499,000. Natixis Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 15.7% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 113,991 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $16,926,000 after purchasing an additional 15,435 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC raised its stake in Agilent Technologies by 339.3% during the third quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 6,862 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $1,019,000 after buying an additional 5,300 shares during the last quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc purchased a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies in the third quarter worth $375,000. Finally, B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG purchased a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies in the third quarter worth $2,331,000.

Agilent Technologies Stock Down 0.7 %

A stock opened at $122.27 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $34.86 billion, a PE ratio of 28.11, a PEG ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a current ratio of 2.20. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $137.41 and its 200-day moving average price is $137.57. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a one year low of $117.17 and a one year high of $155.35.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The medical research company reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.57 EPS for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 23rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.248 per share. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, April 1st. Agilent Technologies’s payout ratio is 22.76%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on A shares. Bank of America cut their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, December 13th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $161.00 to $159.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. StockNews.com upgraded Agilent Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 24th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Agilent Technologies to $165.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Seven 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, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $146.15.

Insider Transactions at Agilent Technologies

In other news, VP Rodney Gonsalves sold 1,908 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.98, for a total transaction of $232,737.84. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 21,786 shares in the company, valued at $2,657,456.28. This represents a 8.05 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,911 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total value of $286,650.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 39,652 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,947,800. The trade was a 4.60 % 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.