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

BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp trimmed its position in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 0.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 330,720 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 3,055 shares during the quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp owned approximately 0.12% of Agilent Technologies worth $44,429,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. CKW Financial Group lifted its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 114.9% during the 4th quarter. CKW Financial Group now owns 187 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. raised its position in Agilent Technologies by 161.1% during the fourth quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 188 shares of the medical research company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 116 shares during the period. Redwood Park Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Agilent Technologies during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. purchased a new position in Agilent Technologies during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Hanson & Doremus Investment Management grew its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 66.5% in the fourth 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 during the period.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies to $135.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Barclays cut their price objective on Agilent Technologies from $138.00 to $115.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on Agilent Technologies from $161.00 to $159.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Agilent Technologies from $155.00 to $135.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $116.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 21st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Agilent Technologies currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $143.00.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Daniel K. Podolsky sold 1,819 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.46, for a total value of $211,840.74. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 35,737 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,161,931.02. This represents a 4.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Rodney Gonsalves sold 1,908 shares of Agilent Technologies stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $121.98, for a total value of $232,737.84. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 21,786 shares in the company, valued at $2,657,456.28. This represents a 8.05% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Agilent Technologies Price Performance

NYSE:A opened at $113.48 on Wednesday. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a one year low of $96.43 and a one year high of $154.65. The stock has a market cap of $32.35 billion, a PE ratio of 26.09, a P/E/G ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 1.27. 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 stock has a 50 day moving average price of $110.23 and a 200 day moving average price of $127.89.

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