Bank of Montreal Can Cuts Stock Position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Bank of Montreal Can trimmed its position in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 1.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 294,415 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 3,243 shares during the quarter. Bank of Montreal Can owned 0.10% of Agilent Technologies worth $39,552,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. CKW Financial Group increased its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 114.9% during the fourth quarter. CKW Financial Group now owns 187 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Agilent Technologies by 161.1% during the 4th quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 188 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 116 shares in the last quarter. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new stake in Agilent Technologies during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management raised its position in Agilent Technologies by 66.5% in the 4th quarter. Hanson & Doremus Investment Management now owns 263 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares in the last quarter. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies in the 4th quarter valued at about $37,000.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Agilent Technologies news, VP Rodney Gonsalves sold 1,908 shares of Agilent Technologies stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $121.98, for a total value of $232,737.84. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 21,786 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,657,456.28. The trade was a 8.05 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,911 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 39,652 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,947,800. This trade represents a 4.60 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 5,638 shares of company stock valued at $731,229.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on A. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $150.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, December 13th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $138.00 to $115.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Citigroup increased their target price on Agilent Technologies to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Agilent Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $146.25.

Agilent Technologies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE A opened at $99.77 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.20, a quick ratio of 1.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.56. The stock has a market cap of $28.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.93, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 1.19. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $124.64 and a two-hundred day moving average of $134.18. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $96.43 and a twelve month high of $155.35.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 26th. The medical research company reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $1.68 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.67 billion. Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 19.27% and a return on equity of 25.56%. On average, research analysts forecast that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

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

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.