Keysight Technologies (NYSE:KEYS) Shares Down 4.3% on Insider Selling

Keysight Technologies Inc. (NYSE:KEYS)’s share price fell 4.3% on Thursday following insider selling activity. The company traded as low as $161.65 and last traded at $158.39. 478,738 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 57% from the average session volume of 1,101,198 shares. The stock had previously closed at $165.52.

Specifically, CFO Neil Dougherty sold 12,215 shares of Keysight Technologies stock in a transaction on Monday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.60, for a total transaction of $2,010,589.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 115,228 shares in the company, valued at $18,966,528.80. The trade was a 9.58% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Keysight Technologies Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $27.26 billion, a PE ratio of 37.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.09. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $158.68 and its 200-day moving average is $158.86. 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 (NYSE:KEYS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 20th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.70 earnings per share (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 net margin of 14.50% and a return on equity of 19.65%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.41 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Keysight Technologies Inc. will post 6.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Keysight Technologies

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Kera Capital Partners Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Keysight Technologies during the second quarter worth about $247,000. AG2R LA Mondiale Gestion D Actifs acquired a new position in Keysight Technologies in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,221,000. Voya Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Keysight Technologies by 22.6% in the first quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 111,909 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $16,761,000 after acquiring an additional 20,595 shares during the period. eCIO Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Keysight Technologies in the first quarter valued at approximately $147,000. Finally, Modern Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Keysight Technologies in the first quarter valued at approximately $260,000. 84.58% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.