Sivik Global Healthcare LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A)

Sivik Global Healthcare LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) by 42.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 50,000 shares of the medical research company's stock after acquiring an additional 15,000 shares during the period. Agilent Technologies accounts for approximately 3.2% of Sivik Global Healthcare LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th biggest holding. Sivik Global Healthcare LLC's holdings in Agilent Technologies were worth $5,849,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 9,306,805 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $1,250,276,000 after acquiring an additional 59,781 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in Agilent Technologies by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,002,671 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $938,291,000 after buying an additional 53,992 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its position in Agilent Technologies by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 5,213,739 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $700,414,000 after buying an additional 47,495 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG increased its position in Agilent Technologies by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 4,436,700 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $596,026,000 after buying an additional 38,348 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its position in Agilent Technologies by 12.3% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,192,790 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $563,259,000 after buying an additional 457,713 shares during the period.

Agilent Technologies Price Performance

Shares of Agilent Technologies stock traded up $0.09 during trading on Friday, reaching $115.61. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,043,869 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,904,662. The company has a quick ratio of 1.60, a current ratio of 2.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.55. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $96.43 and a 12-month high of $153.84. The company has a market capitalization of $32.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.51 and a beta of 1.23. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $110.67 and a 200-day moving average price of $124.70.

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

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 23rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, July 1st will be given a dividend of $0.248 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 1st. This represents a $0.99 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.86%. Agilent Technologies's payout ratio is 24.44%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on A. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Agilent Technologies from $155.00 to $135.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Leerink Partners lifted their price target on Agilent Technologies to $135.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Agilent Technologies from $160.00 to $155.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Agilent Technologies from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, June 14th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $140.15.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 stock was 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

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.