Primecap Management Co. CA Cuts Stake in Keysight Technologies Inc. (NYSE:KEYS)

Key Points

• Primecap Management Co. has reduced its position in Keysight Technologies by 2.6%, selling 17,640 shares, while still holding about 0.39% of the company, valued at $100.3 million.
• In the first quarter, other hedge funds have significantly increased their stakes in Keysight, with Central Pacific Bank Trust Division and Manchester Capital Management boosting their holdings by 97.8% and 85.0% respectively.
• Keysight Technologies has recently reported a quarterly profit of $1.70 EPS, exceeding estimates, and its stock currently holds a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $187.50 from analysts.

Primecap Management Co. CA trimmed its position in Keysight Technologies Inc. (NYSE:KEYS - Free Report) by 2.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 669,635 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after selling 17,640 shares during the period. Primecap Management Co. CA owned about 0.39% of Keysight Technologies worth $100,291,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in Keysight Technologies by 35.8% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 16,039 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $2,576,000 after buying an additional 4,228 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Keysight Technologies by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 416,630 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $66,923,000 after purchasing an additional 5,356 shares in the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Keysight Technologies by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 11,223 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $1,803,000 after purchasing an additional 520 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Keysight Technologies by 62.8% in the 4th quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 16,274 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $2,605,000 after acquiring an additional 6,280 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Keysight Technologies by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,220,050 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $356,607,000 after buying an additional 45,867 shares during the last quarter. 84.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Ingrid A. Estrada sold 10,000 shares of the 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 sale, the senior vice president directly owned 108,590 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $17,262,552.30. This represents a 8.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Richard P. Hamada sold 1,589 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.00, for a total transaction of $257,418.00. Following the sale, the director owned 42,160 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,829,920. This represents a 3.63% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 31,830 shares of company stock worth $5,124,049. 0.61% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Keysight Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE KEYS traded up $3.73 during trading on Friday, reaching $164.98. 715,553 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 775,944. The stock has a market cap of $28.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.73, a PEG ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.11. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $162.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $158.82. The company has a current ratio of 3.39, a quick ratio of 2.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. Keysight Technologies Inc. has a 12-month low of $121.43 and a 12-month high of $186.20.

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