Sit Investment Associates Inc. Purchases 3,335 Shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. $A

Key Points

• Sit Investment Associates Inc. increased its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 5.8%, now owning 61,307 shares valued at $7,172,000.
• Agilent Technologies reported a quarterly earnings per share of $1.31, exceeding estimates, with revenues of $1.67 billion representing a 6% year-over-year growth.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.248, translating to an annualized yield of 0.8% and a dividend payout ratio of 24.44%.

Sit Investment Associates Inc. boosted its position in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) by 5.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 61,307 shares of the medical research company's stock after acquiring an additional 3,335 shares during the period. Sit Investment Associates Inc.'s holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $7,172,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund increased its stake in Agilent Technologies by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 71,624 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $8,379,000 after buying an additional 1,300 shares during the last quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Agilent Technologies by 4.5% in the 1st quarter. E Fund Management Co. Ltd. now owns 3,142 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $368,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the period. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 6.7% in the 1st quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 8,646 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $1,011,000 after buying an additional 546 shares in the last quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $244,000. Finally, S Bank Fund Management Ltd acquired a new position in Agilent Technologies during the 1st quarter worth approximately $345,000.

Agilent Technologies Trading Up 0.4%

A stock traded up $0.43 during trading on Friday, hitting $119.30. The company had a trading volume of 1,238,463 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,423,756. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $117.82 and a 200-day moving average price of $118.08. The company has a quick ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. The stock has a market cap of $33.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.46, a PEG ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 1.22. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 12 month low of $96.43 and a 12 month high of $153.84.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The medical research company reported $1.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.26 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $1.67 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.63 billion. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 25.92% and a net margin of 17.59%. The company's revenue was up 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.22 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.58 earnings per share for the current year.

Agilent Technologies Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 23rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 1st were given a dividend of $0.248 per share. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, July 1st. Agilent Technologies's payout ratio is currently 24.44%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,508 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $117.44, for a total transaction of $177,099.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 37,448 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,397,893.12. This represents a 3.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on A shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Agilent Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 28th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies from $159.00 to $140.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Agilent Technologies to $150.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $135.00 to $116.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 21st. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $115.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Agilent Technologies has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $139.77.

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.