HighTower Advisors LLC Sells 4,882 Shares of Keysight Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:KEYS)

HighTower Advisors LLC reduced its position in shares of Keysight Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:KEYS) by 27.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,220 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 4,882 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Keysight Technologies were worth $2,097,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in KEYS. Natixis Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Keysight Technologies by 8.7% in the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 176,966 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $28,125,000 after buying an additional 14,185 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its position in Keysight Technologies by 72.6% during the 3rd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 16,895 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $2,685,000 after purchasing an additional 7,106 shares during the period. Speece Thorson Capital Group Inc. raised its holdings in Keysight Technologies by 28.7% in the 3rd quarter. Speece Thorson Capital Group Inc. now owns 80,629 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $12,814,000 after purchasing an additional 17,962 shares in the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Keysight Technologies by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 1,081,169 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $171,830,000 after purchasing an additional 10,579 shares during the period. Finally, Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Keysight Technologies by 318.8% during the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 49,299 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $7,835,000 after purchasing an additional 37,528 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.58% of the company’s stock.

Keysight Technologies Stock Performance

KEYS stock opened at $166.50 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.89 billion, a PE ratio of 47.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.15 and a beta of 1.00. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $161.32 and its 200 day simple moving average is $148.49. Keysight Technologies, Inc. has a 12-month low of $119.72 and a 12-month high of $175.39. The company has a current ratio of 2.98, a quick ratio of 2.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have commented on KEYS shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price objective on shares of Keysight Technologies from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Keysight Technologies from $165.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 20th. Barclays raised their price objective on Keysight Technologies from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Keysight Technologies from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Keysight Technologies from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, November 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $177.30.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Satish Dhanasekaran sold 17,822 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.66, for a total transaction of $3,023,680.52. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 116,582 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,779,302.12. This represents a 13.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Lisa M. Poole sold 350 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.79, for a total value of $60,126.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 4,820 shares in the company, valued at $828,027.80. The trade was a 6.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 27,063 shares of company stock valued at $4,603,201 over the last ninety days. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.