Boston Partners Increases Position in Keysight Technologies Inc. (NYSE:KEYS)

Key Points

• Boston Partners increased its holdings in Keysight Technologies by 7.7%, owning over 4.26 million shares valued at approximately $636.85 million, making it the firm's 29th largest holding.
• Keysight Technologies reported earnings per share of $1.70 for the latest quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations, with revenues rising 7.4% year-over-year to $1.32 billion.
• Analysts have upgraded their price targets for Keysight Technologies, with JPMorgan raising it from $177 to $200, reflecting a generally positive outlook for the stock.

Boston Partners raised its position in Keysight Technologies Inc. (NYSE:KEYS - Free Report) by 7.7% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,263,417 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after purchasing an additional 305,143 shares during the period. Keysight Technologies accounts for 0.8% of Boston Partners' investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest holding. Boston Partners owned approximately 2.47% of Keysight Technologies worth $636,854,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division boosted its holdings in shares of Keysight Technologies by 97.8% in the 1st quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 182 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Accent Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Keysight Technologies in the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Manchester Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Keysight Technologies by 85.0% in the 1st quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 235 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT acquired a new position in shares of Keysight Technologies in the 1st quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Private Trust Co. NA boosted its holdings in shares of Keysight Technologies by 39.9% in the 1st quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 263 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. 84.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on KEYS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Keysight Technologies from $177.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price 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. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of Keysight Technologies from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and upped their target price for the company from $170.00 to $175.00 in a report on Monday, July 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $187.50.

Keysight Technologies Stock Performance

NYSE:KEYS traded down $5.62 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $164.61. 841,749 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 794,774. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a 50-day moving average of $163.15 and a 200 day moving average of $158.65. The company has a quick ratio of 2.75, a current ratio of 3.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. Keysight Technologies Inc. has a 1-year low of $121.43 and a 1-year high of $186.20.

Keysight Technologies (NYSE:KEYS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 20th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.28 billion. Keysight Technologies had a net margin of 14.50% and a return on equity of 19.65%. Keysight Technologies's quarterly revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.41 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Keysight Technologies Inc. will post 6.32 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Keysight Technologies

In other Keysight Technologies news, CFO Neil Dougherty sold 12,215 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.60, for a total transaction of $2,010,589.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 115,228 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,966,528.80. This represents a 9.58% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Ingrid A. Estrada sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.97, for a total transaction of $1,589,700.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 108,590 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $17,262,552.30. The trade was a 8.43% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 31,830 shares of company stock worth $5,124,049 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.61% of the company's stock.

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.