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

Sivik Global Healthcare LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 35,000 shares of the medical research company's stock, valued at approximately $4,702,000. Agilent Technologies comprises 2.5% of Sivik Global Healthcare LLC's holdings, making the stock its 18th biggest holding.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of A. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in shares of Agilent Technologies by 3.5% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 15,589,874 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $2,314,784,000 after buying an additional 525,214 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Agilent Technologies by 62.2% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,287,665 shares of the medical research company's stock worth $191,193,000 after purchasing an additional 493,947 shares during the period. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Agilent Technologies during the third quarter valued at about $49,449,000. Jennison Associates LLC raised its stake in Agilent Technologies by 63.3% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 586,439 shares of the medical research company's stock valued at $87,075,000 after purchasing an additional 227,431 shares during the period. Finally, Ilex Capital Partners UK LLP bought a new position in shares of Agilent Technologies during the 3rd quarter valued at about $33,087,000.

Insider Transactions at Agilent Technologies

In other Agilent Technologies news, CEO Padraig Mcdonnell sold 1,911 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.00, for a total transaction of $286,650.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 39,652 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,947,800. This trade represents a 4.60 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on A shares. Sanford C. Bernstein cut their target price on Agilent Technologies from $140.00 to $135.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Bank of America decreased their target price on Agilent Technologies from $153.00 to $150.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $157.00 to $155.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 9th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Agilent Technologies to $165.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $145.00 to $135.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $143.62.

Agilent Technologies Stock Up 2.6 %

Agilent Technologies stock opened at $150.96 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.12 and a beta of 1.06. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $124.16 and a fifty-two week high of $155.35. The stock's fifty day moving average is $139.40 and its two-hundred day moving average is $138.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 1.58 and a current ratio of 2.09.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 25th. The medical research company reported $1.46 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.41 by $0.05. Agilent Technologies had a return on equity of 25.43% and a net margin of 19.80%. The firm had revenue of $1.70 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.38 earnings per share. Agilent Technologies's quarterly revenue was up .8% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, January 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 31st were issued a $0.248 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 31st. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.66%. This is an increase from Agilent Technologies's previous quarterly dividend of $0.24. Agilent Technologies's dividend payout ratio is presently 22.40%.

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.

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