Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) Shares Sold by BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp

BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp decreased its position in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 0.9% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 330,720 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 3,055 shares during the quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $44,429,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in A. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Agilent Technologies during the 4th quarter worth approximately $456,963,000. Madison Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Agilent Technologies during the fourth quarter worth approximately $94,051,000. Two Sigma Investments LP boosted its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 345.9% in the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 769,897 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $103,428,000 after purchasing an additional 597,249 shares in the last quarter. Iron Triangle Partners LP acquired a new position in Agilent Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $80,110,000. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP increased its stake in Agilent Technologies by 280.3% in the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 806,895 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $108,398,000 after purchasing an additional 594,744 shares during the last quarter.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $161.00 to $159.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on Agilent Technologies to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $116.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 21st. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Agilent Technologies from $155.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on Agilent Technologies from $138.00 to $115.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Agilent Technologies currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $143.00.

Insider Activity

In other Agilent Technologies news, Director Daniel K. Podolsky sold 1,819 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $116.46, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 4.84% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 21,786 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,657,456.28. This trade represents a 8.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Agilent Technologies Trading Up 0.0%

Shares of A stock opened at $113.48 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $32.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 1.27. 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 business’s 50 day moving average is $110.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $127.89. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a twelve month low of $96.43 and a twelve month high of $154.65.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 26th. The medical research company reported $1.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.27 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $1.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 19.27% and a return on equity of 25.56%. Equities analysts forecast that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.54 EPS for the current year.

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.