Keysight Technologies Inc. (NYSE:KEYS) Shares Sold by Commerce Bank

Key Points

• Commerce Bank reduced its holdings in Keysight Technologies by 4.7%, owning 82,621 shares valued at approximately $12.37 million at the end of Q1.
• Notable increases in stakes by large investors include Kovitz Investment Group's 364.6% rise and Victory Capital Management's 1,224.5% boost in their positions during the same period.
• Keysight Technologies reported earnings of $1.70 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding estimates, with revenue growth of 7.4% year-over-year.

Commerce Bank reduced its position in shares of Keysight Technologies Inc. (NYSE:KEYS - Free Report) by 4.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 82,621 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after selling 4,080 shares during the period. Commerce Bank's holdings in Keysight Technologies were worth $12,374,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC lifted its stake in Keysight Technologies by 364.6% in the fourth quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 4,652,311 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $747,301,000 after buying an additional 3,650,953 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in Keysight Technologies by 29.0% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 16,114,952 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $2,588,546,000 after acquiring an additional 3,621,349 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its holdings in Keysight Technologies by 1,224.5% during the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,991,884 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $298,324,000 after purchasing an additional 1,841,494 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. raised its stake in Keysight Technologies by 343.6% in the 4th quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,008,192 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $161,946,000 after acquiring an additional 780,893 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Keysight Technologies by 36,268.6% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 750,647 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $112,424,000 after acquiring an additional 748,583 shares during the period. 84.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KEYS has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Bank of America raised shares of Keysight Technologies from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $170.00 to $175.00 in a report on Monday, July 21st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Keysight Technologies from $156.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Keysight Technologies from $177.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $187.50.

Keysight Technologies Trading Up 1.9%

Shares of KEYS stock traded up $2.97 during trading on Monday, hitting $161.65. 1,028,588 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 776,454. Keysight Technologies Inc. has a 52-week low of $119.72 and a 52-week high of $186.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 3.39 and a quick ratio of 2.75. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $162.44 and its 200-day moving average price is $158.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.13 and a beta of 1.11.

Keysight Technologies (NYSE:KEYS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, May 20th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.28 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.41 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Keysight Technologies Inc. will post 6.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Satish Dhanasekaran sold 658 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $157.78, for a total transaction of $103,819.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 115,576 shares of the company's stock, valued at $18,235,581.28. This represents a 0.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP John Page sold 7,368 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the senior vice president owned 36,986 shares in the company, 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 have sold a total of 31,830 shares of company stock worth $5,124,049 over the last ninety days. 0.61% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.