Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) Shares Sold by The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company trimmed its holdings in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 4.0% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 228,583 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 9,494 shares during the quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $33,940,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of A. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in Agilent Technologies by 3.5% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 15,589,874 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $2,314,784,000 after buying an additional 525,214 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 6.6% during 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 acquiring an additional 183,716 shares during the period. Impax Asset Management Group plc boosted its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 8.2% during the 3rd quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 2,667,616 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $396,088,000 after acquiring an additional 203,234 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies by 2.3% in the second quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,386,039 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $309,302,000 after purchasing an additional 52,550 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Agilent Technologies by 10.0% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,088,644 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $141,131,000 after purchasing an additional 99,080 shares during the last quarter.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A has been the subject of several analyst reports. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 1st. Barclays lowered their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $145.00 to $135.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Sanford C. Bernstein reduced their target price on Agilent Technologies from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $151.00 price target on shares of Agilent Technologies in a report on Monday, August 26th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $141.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $143.40.

Insider Buying and Selling at Agilent Technologies

In related news, SVP Dominique Grau sold 9,990 shares of the business’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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 40,011 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,801,595. The trade was a 19.98 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Agilent Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of A stock opened at $137.98 on Friday. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $124.16 and a 52 week high of $155.35. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $137.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $137.37. The company has a quick ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.65 billion, a PE ratio of 31.22, a P/E/G ratio of 4.38 and a beta of 1.07.

Agilent Technologies Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be paid a dividend of $0.248 per share. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.72%. This is a boost from Agilent Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. Agilent Technologies’s payout ratio is presently 21.27%.

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.