South Dakota Investment Council Buys Shares of 1,750 Agilent Technologies, Inc. $A

South Dakota Investment Council bought a new stake in Agilent Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:A) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 1,750 shares of the medical research company’s stock, valued at approximately $207,000.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of A. Stone House Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies during the first quarter worth about $30,000. Ransom Advisory Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies during the first quarter worth about $32,000. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division acquired a new stake in shares of Agilent Technologies during the second quarter worth about $33,000. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT acquired a new stake in Agilent Technologies during the 1st quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Costello Asset Management INC acquired a new stake in Agilent Technologies during the 1st quarter worth approximately $47,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.41% of the company’s stock.

Agilent Technologies Trading Up 1.2%

NYSE A opened at $146.46 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.71, a current ratio of 2.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. Agilent Technologies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $96.43 and a 52 week high of $153.84. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.52 billion, a PE ratio of 34.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.67 and a beta of 1.26. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $134.05 and a two-hundred day moving average of $121.62.

Agilent Technologies (NYSE:A) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 27th. The medical research company reported $1.37 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.37. The company had revenue of $1.74 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.67 billion. Agilent Technologies had a net margin of 17.97% and a return on equity of 25.51%. The firm’s revenue was up 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.32 earnings per share. Agilent Technologies has set its FY 2025 guidance at 5.560-5.590 EPS. Q4 2025 guidance at 1.570-1.600 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Agilent Technologies, Inc. will post 5.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Agilent Technologies Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, October 22nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 30th were paid a dividend of $0.248 per share. This represents a $0.99 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 30th. Agilent Technologies’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.24%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $150.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 14th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Agilent Technologies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $130.00 to $170.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $141.00 to $142.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 28th. Evercore ISI upped their target price on shares of Agilent Technologies from $128.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Agilent Technologies from $125.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 2nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $149.62.

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.