Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Raises Position in Keysight Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:KEYS)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its stake in Keysight Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:KEYS) by 5.8% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 18,073 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after purchasing an additional 991 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Keysight Technologies were worth $2,472,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of KEYS. Private Advisor Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Keysight Technologies by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 5,992 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $953,000 after purchasing an additional 323 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Keysight Technologies in the fourth quarter worth approximately $144,000. AGF Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Keysight Technologies in the fourth quarter worth approximately $528,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Keysight Technologies by 8.4% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 959,955 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $152,723,000 after acquiring an additional 74,083 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. increased its position in shares of Keysight Technologies by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 23,708 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $3,772,000 after acquiring an additional 626 shares during the last quarter. 84.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

KEYS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Susquehanna decreased their price target on Keysight Technologies from $195.00 to $185.00 and set a “positive” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Barclays increased their price target on Keysight Technologies from $141.00 to $151.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 21st. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on Keysight Technologies from $167.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 19th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $180.00 price target on shares of Keysight Technologies in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Finally, Vertical Research initiated coverage on Keysight Technologies in a research report on Tuesday, July 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $175.00 price target for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Keysight Technologies presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $167.40.

Insider Transactions at Keysight Technologies

In other news, Director Richard P. Hamada sold 1,632 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.00, for a total value of $254,592.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 42,160 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,576,960. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Richard P. Hamada sold 1,632 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.00, for a total value of $254,592.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 42,160 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,576,960. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Lisa M. Poole sold 440 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $136.45, for a total value of $60,038.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 3,913 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $533,928.85. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Keysight Technologies Stock Performance

NYSE:KEYS opened at $148.17 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 2.05 and a quick ratio of 1.52. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $139.77 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $144.99. Keysight Technologies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $118.57 and a 1 year high of $162.51. The company has a market capitalization of $25.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.28, a P/E/G ratio of 4.85 and a beta of 0.97.

Keysight Technologies (NYSE:KEYS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 20th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.22. Keysight Technologies had a return on equity of 21.01% and a net margin of 18.24%. The business had revenue of $1.22 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.19 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $2.04 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Keysight Technologies, Inc. will post 5.35 earnings per share for the current year.

About Keysight Technologies

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.