Geneva Capital Management LLC Acquires 26,941 Shares of Keysight Technologies Inc. (NYSE:KEYS)

Key Points

• Geneva Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Keysight Technologies by 11.9%, holding 253,387 shares valued at approximately $37.95 million at the end of the first quarter.
• In recent insider trading, SVP Ingrid A. Estrada sold 10,000 shares at an average price of $158.97, reducing her ownership by 8.43% to 108,590 shares.
• Analysts have positive outlooks for Keysight Technologies, with JPMorgan Chase raising the target price from $177 to $200 and giving the stock an "overweight" rating.

Geneva Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Keysight Technologies Inc. (NYSE:KEYS - Free Report) by 11.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 253,387 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after buying an additional 26,941 shares during the period. Geneva Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.15% of Keysight Technologies worth $37,950,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division grew its position in Keysight Technologies by 97.8% in the 1st quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 182 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Accent Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Keysight Technologies in the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Manchester Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Keysight Technologies by 85.0% during the 1st quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 235 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its position in Keysight Technologies by 39.9% in the first quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 263 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. increased its position in shares of Keysight Technologies by 241.8% during the fourth quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 270 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $44,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.58% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Neil Dougherty sold 12,215 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.60, for a total transaction of $2,010,589.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 115,228 shares in the company, valued at $18,966,528.80. The trade was a 9.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Richard P. Hamada sold 1,589 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.00, for a total transaction of $257,418.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 42,160 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,829,920. This represents a 3.63% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 31,830 shares of company stock valued at $5,124,049 in the last ninety days. 0.61% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Keysight Technologies from $177.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Bank of America upgraded Keysight Technologies from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their target price for the company from $170.00 to $175.00 in a report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Keysight Technologies from $156.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $187.50.

Keysight Technologies Stock Performance

KEYS stock traded down $0.63 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $160.69. 656,769 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 788,972. Keysight Technologies Inc. has a 1-year low of $119.72 and a 1-year high of $186.20. The company's fifty day moving average price is $162.42 and its 200-day moving average price is $158.88. The company has a quick ratio of 2.75, a current ratio of 3.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The firm has a market cap of $27.66 billion, a PE ratio of 37.72, a P/E/G ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 1.11.

Keysight Technologies (NYSE:KEYS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 20th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.05. Keysight Technologies had a net margin of 14.50% and a return on equity of 19.65%. The business had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.28 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.41 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Keysight Technologies Inc. will post 6.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Keysight Technologies Company Profile

Keysight Technologies, Inc provides electronic design and test solutions to commercial communications, networking, aerospace, defense and government, automotive, energy, semiconductor, electronic, and education industries in the Americas, Europe, and the Asia Pacific. The company operates in two segments, Communications Solutions Group and Electronic Industrial Solutions Group.