Keeler Thomas Management LLC Sells 7,821 Shares of Keysight Technologies Inc. (NYSE:KEYS)

Key Points

• Keeler Thomas Management LLC has reduced its stake in Keysight Technologies by 39.3%, selling 7,821 shares and now holding 12,102 shares worth approximately $1.81 million.
• Insider selling is prominent, with SVP John Page and Director Richard P. Hamada selling a combined 8,957 shares, leading to decreases in their ownership positions of 16.61% and 3.63%, respectively.
• Keysight Technologies recently received upgrades in price targets from several brokerages, with JPMorgan Chase raising its target from $177.00 to $200.00 and an overall consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" established.

Keeler Thomas Management LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Keysight Technologies Inc. (NYSE:KEYS - Free Report) by 39.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,102 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after selling 7,821 shares during the quarter. Keeler Thomas Management LLC's holdings in Keysight Technologies were worth $1,813,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division raised its holdings in shares of 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 worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Accent Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Keysight Technologies in the first quarter valued at $28,000. Manchester Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Keysight Technologies by 85.0% in the first quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 235 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Keysight Technologies by 241.8% in the fourth quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 270 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. 84.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Keysight Technologies

In other news, CFO Neil Dougherty sold 12,215 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 115,228 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $18,966,528.80. This trade represents a 9.58% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP John Page sold 7,368 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.78, for a total transaction of $1,162,523.04. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 36,986 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,835,651.08. The trade was a 16.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 31,830 shares of company stock worth $5,124,049 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.61% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on KEYS shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped 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 raised shares of Keysight Technologies from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $170.00 to $175.00 in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Keysight Technologies from $156.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $187.50.

Keysight Technologies Stock Performance

Keysight Technologies stock traded down $1.54 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $163.42. The company had a trading volume of 185,079 shares, compared to its average volume of 969,330. The company has a quick ratio of 2.75, a current ratio of 3.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. Keysight Technologies Inc. has a 52 week low of $121.43 and a 52 week high of $186.20. The company has a 50 day moving average of $162.68 and a 200-day moving average of $158.62. The firm has a market cap of $28.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.36, a PEG ratio of 2.33 and a beta of 1.11.

Keysight Technologies (NYSE:KEYS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, May 20th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.28 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.41 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Keysight Technologies Inc. will post 6.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Keysight Technologies

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.