Mackenzie Financial Corp Sells 41,853 Shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Mackenzie Financial Corp decreased its position in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 14.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 251,729 shares of the medical research company’s stock after selling 41,853 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $34,998,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of A. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Agilent Technologies during the 4th quarter worth $393,291,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 939.8% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,296,512 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $256,796,000 after buying an additional 2,075,649 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 233.7% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,666,416 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $370,552,000 after buying an additional 1,867,377 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley raised its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 79.4% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 4,145,767 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $620,414,000 after buying an additional 1,835,413 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Meritage Group LP acquired a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies during the third quarter valued at about $184,437,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.42% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $132.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 4th. Stifel Nicolaus raised shares of Agilent Technologies from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $145.00 to $163.00 in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $130.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $140.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 20th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $130.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Agilent Technologies presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $141.29.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Philip Binns sold 2,827 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $147.54, for a total transaction of $417,095.58. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,997 shares in the company, valued at $1,474,957.38. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Michael R. Mcmullen sold 52,297 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total transaction of $7,844,550.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 253,909 shares in the company, valued at $38,086,350. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Philip Binns sold 2,827 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $147.54, for a total transaction of $417,095.58. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 9,997 shares in the company, valued at $1,474,957.38. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 61,610 shares of company stock worth $9,220,333. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Agilent Technologies Price Performance

A opened at $134.55 on Thursday. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a one year low of $96.80 and a one year high of $151.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.41, a current ratio of 2.68 and a quick ratio of 2.04. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $141.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $129.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.24 and a beta of 1.11.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 27th. The medical research company reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.22 by $0.07. Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 18.35% and a return on equity of 27.09%. The firm had revenue of $1.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.59 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.37 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 24th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 2nd will be issued a $0.236 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, April 1st. This represents a $0.94 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.70%. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.38%.

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.