HighTower Advisors LLC Lowers Stock Holdings in Keysight Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:KEYS)

HighTower Advisors LLC cut its holdings in shares of Keysight Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:KEYS) by 27.0% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 13,220 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 4,882 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in Keysight Technologies were worth $2,097,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Ascent Group LLC bought a new stake in Keysight Technologies in the 3rd quarter valued at $1,491,000. Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its position in shares of Keysight Technologies by 5,597.7% during the third quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 7,464 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $1,186,000 after purchasing an additional 7,333 shares in the last quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH bought a new stake in shares of Keysight Technologies in the third quarter worth about $29,000. Verition Fund Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Keysight Technologies by 106.0% in the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 39,738 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $6,316,000 after buying an additional 20,448 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its stake in Keysight Technologies by 27.6% during the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 6,940 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $1,103,000 after buying an additional 1,502 shares during the last quarter. 84.58% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on Keysight Technologies from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Keysight Technologies from $163.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Keysight Technologies from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Keysight Technologies from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 20th. Finally, Susquehanna restated a “positive” rating and set a $185.00 price objective on shares of Keysight Technologies in a research report on Wednesday, November 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $177.30.

Insider Buying and Selling at Keysight Technologies

In other news, CEO Satish Dhanasekaran sold 17,822 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.66, for a total value of $3,023,680.52. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly 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 document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP John Page sold 3,884 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.66, for a total transaction of $658,959.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 37,081 shares in the company, valued at $6,291,162.46. This represents a 9.48 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 27,063 shares of company stock valued at $4,603,201 in the last quarter. 0.60% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Keysight Technologies Trading Down 1.1 %

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

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.