Brown Advisory Inc. Trims Holdings in Keysight Technologies Inc. (NYSE:KEYS)

Brown Advisory Inc. reduced its position in Keysight Technologies Inc. (NYSE:KEYS) by 56.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,209 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 2,810 shares during the quarter. Brown Advisory Inc.’s holdings in Keysight Technologies were worth $331,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division lifted its holdings in shares of Keysight Technologies by 97.8% during 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 acquiring an additional 90 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its holdings in shares of Keysight Technologies by 39.9% during the 1st quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 263 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. Sunbelt Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Keysight Technologies by 241.8% during the 4th quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 270 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $44,000 after acquiring an additional 191 shares during the period. Goodman Advisory Group LLC purchased a new position in Keysight Technologies in the first quarter valued at approximately $51,000. Finally, Quarry LP lifted its position in Keysight Technologies by 188.1% during the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 435 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $70,000 after buying an additional 284 shares in the last quarter. 84.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Keysight Technologies

In other news, CEO Satish Dhanasekaran sold 658 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.78, for a total transaction of $103,819.24. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 115,576 shares in the company, valued at $18,235,581.28. This represents a 0.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Richard P. Hamada sold 1,589 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.00, for a total value of $257,418.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 42,160 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,829,920. This trade represents a 3.63% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 31,830 shares of company stock worth $5,124,049. Insiders own 0.61% of the company’s stock.

Keysight Technologies Price Performance

Shares of KEYS opened at $161.85 on Wednesday. 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 1 year low of $119.72 and a 1 year high of $186.20. The stock has a market cap of $27.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 1.09. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $161.41 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $158.81.

Keysight Technologies (NYSE:KEYS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 20th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.28 billion. Keysight Technologies had a return on equity of 19.65% and a net margin of 14.50%. Keysight Technologies’s revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.41 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Keysight Technologies Inc. will post 6.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on KEYS shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Keysight Technologies from $172.00 to $177.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Keysight Technologies from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 22nd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Keysight Technologies from $156.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Keysight Technologies from $165.00 to $170.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $183.00.

Keysight Technologies 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.