iA Global Asset Management Inc. Sells 982 Shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

iA Global Asset Management Inc. lessened its position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 27,669 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 982 shares during the period. iA Global Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $4,108,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in A. Marshall Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,058,000. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in Agilent Technologies by 6.6% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,976,905 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $442,011,000 after purchasing an additional 183,716 shares during the period. AXA S.A. grew its position in Agilent Technologies by 32.3% in the 2nd quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 362,945 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $47,049,000 after purchasing an additional 88,667 shares during the period. Vestal Point Capital LP purchased a new stake in Agilent Technologies during the 3rd quarter valued at $14,848,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 29.8% during the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 30,978 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $4,592,000 after buying an additional 7,111 shares during the period.

Agilent Technologies Price Performance

Shares of Agilent Technologies stock opened at $140.58 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $40.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.81, a PEG ratio of 4.45 and a beta of 1.07. The company has a quick ratio of 1.58, a current ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $137.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $136.76. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $124.16 and a 52 week high of $155.35.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 25th. The medical research company reported $1.46 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $1.70 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.67 billion. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 25.43% and a net margin of 19.80%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.38 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 22nd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a $0.248 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.71%. This is a boost from Agilent Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Agilent Technologies’s payout ratio is presently 21.27%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on A. Barclays cut their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $145.00 to $135.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $140.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on shares of Agilent Technologies in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $157.00 target price for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $165.00 to $160.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $143.29.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Dominique Grau sold 9,990 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $145.00, for a total transaction of $1,448,550.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 40,011 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,801,595. This represents a 19.98 % 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.