Mizuho Securities USA LLC Sells 2,603 Shares of Keysight Technologies Inc. (NYSE:KEYS)

Key Points

• Mizuho Securities USA LLC reduced its stake in Keysight Technologies by 15.8% during the 1st quarter, owning 13,845 shares valued at approximately $2.07 million after selling 2,603 shares.
• Insider transactions included CFO Neil Dougherty and SVP Ingrid A. Estrada selling significant amounts of stock, with total sales exceeding $5 million over the last ninety days, indicating a decrease in their ownership stakes.
• Keysight Technologies' stock was down 2.0%, trading at $161.64, with analysts maintaining a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a target price of $187.50 following positive quarterly earnings results.

Mizuho Securities USA LLC lessened its holdings in Keysight Technologies Inc. (NYSE:KEYS - Free Report) by 15.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,845 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after selling 2,603 shares during the period. Mizuho Securities USA LLC's holdings in Keysight Technologies were worth $2,074,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Keysight Technologies by 11.8% in the first quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 9,471 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $1,419,000 after purchasing an additional 999 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Keysight Technologies by 46.9% in the first quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 64,590 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $9,674,000 after purchasing an additional 20,631 shares during the period. Cynosure Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Keysight Technologies by 17.2% in the first quarter. Cynosure Group LLC now owns 2,367 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $355,000 after purchasing an additional 348 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Keysight Technologies by 26.2% in the first quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 5,028 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $753,000 after purchasing an additional 1,045 shares during the period. Finally, Zions Bancorporation National Association UT bought a new position in shares of Keysight Technologies in the first quarter worth $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.58% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Keysight Technologies

In other Keysight Technologies news, CEO Satish Dhanasekaran sold 658 shares of Keysight Technologies stock in a transaction on Friday, May 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $157.78, for a total value of $103,819.24. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 115,576 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,235,581.28. The trade was a 0.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Ingrid A. Estrada sold 10,000 shares of Keysight Technologies stock in a transaction on Friday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.97, for a total transaction of $1,589,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 108,590 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,262,552.30. This represents a 8.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 31,830 shares of company stock worth $5,124,049 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.61% of the company's stock.

Keysight Technologies Trading Down 3.3%

KEYS stock traded down $5.62 during trading on Thursday, reaching $164.61. The company had a trading volume of 841,749 shares, compared to its average volume of 972,804. Keysight Technologies Inc. has a 52 week low of $121.43 and a 52 week high of $186.20. The company has a market cap of $28.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.64, a PEG ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.11. The business has a 50 day moving average of $163.06 and a 200 day moving average of $158.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 3.39 and a quick ratio of 2.75.

Keysight Technologies (NYSE:KEYS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.28 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.41 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Keysight Technologies Inc. will post 6.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America raised shares of Keysight Technologies from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $170.00 to $175.00 in a report on Monday, July 21st. Morgan Stanley upped their price target 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Keysight Technologies from $177.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $187.50.

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.