Hancock Whitney Corp Boosts Holdings in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Hancock Whitney Corp grew its position in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) by 1.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 20,222 shares of the medical research company’s stock after purchasing an additional 230 shares during the period. Hancock Whitney Corp’s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $3,003,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 953.3% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 32,694 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $4,757,000 after buying an additional 29,590 shares during the last quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Agilent Technologies by 26.2% in the 1st quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 21,770 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $3,168,000 after acquiring an additional 4,523 shares during the last quarter. Bayesian Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in Agilent Technologies in the first quarter worth $1,355,000. Marshall Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies during the second quarter worth $1,058,000. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 6.6% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,976,905 shares of the medical research company’s stock valued at $442,011,000 after purchasing an additional 183,716 shares during the period.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $150.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. Barclays boosted their price target on Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 15th. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and set a $151.00 price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies in a report on Monday, August 26th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 1st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company began coverage on Agilent Technologies in a research report on Tuesday, August 27th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $157.00 price target on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $144.36.

Agilent Technologies Trading Up 0.5 %

NYSE A opened at $134.50 on Tuesday. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $124.10 and a 52 week high of $155.35. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $137.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $137.54. The company has a quick ratio of 1.37, a current ratio of 1.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The firm has a market cap of $38.65 billion, a PE ratio of 27.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.89 and a beta of 1.07.

Agilent Technologies Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 22nd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 31st will be issued a dividend of $0.248 per share. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.74%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, December 31st. This is a positive change from Agilent Technologies’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio is currently 19.50%.

Insider Transactions at Agilent Technologies

In other Agilent Technologies news, SVP Dominique Grau sold 9,990 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 40,011 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,801,595. This represents a 19.98 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

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.