National Pension Service Buys 11,195 Shares of Keysight Technologies Inc. $KEYS

Key Points

• The National Pension Service increased its holdings in Keysight Technologies by 4.1%, owning 282,880 shares valued at approximately $42.37 million as of the end of the 1st quarter.
• Keysight Technologies reported $1.70 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations and showing a 7.4% increase in revenue from the previous year.
• Wall Street analysts are optimistic about the stock, with an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $187.50.

National Pension Service lifted its stake in shares of Keysight Technologies Inc. (NYSE:KEYS - Free Report) by 4.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 282,880 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after acquiring an additional 11,195 shares during the period. National Pension Service owned approximately 0.16% of Keysight Technologies worth $42,367,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Townsquare Capital LLC grew its position in Keysight Technologies by 15.7% in the fourth quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 3,983 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $640,000 after purchasing an additional 539 shares in the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp bought a new position in Keysight Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at $200,000. Mariner LLC grew its position in Keysight Technologies by 18.9% in the fourth quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 34,662 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $5,568,000 after purchasing an additional 5,508 shares in the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC bought a new position in Keysight Technologies in the fourth quarter valued at $1,565,000. Finally, Capital International Sarl grew its position in Keysight Technologies by 28.3% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Sarl now owns 51,818 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $8,324,000 after purchasing an additional 11,426 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.58% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KEYS has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Keysight Technologies from $177.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Bank of America raised shares of Keysight Technologies from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and raised their target price for the company from $170.00 to $175.00 in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Keysight Technologies from $156.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 13th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $187.50.

Keysight Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of KEYS traded down $0.5210 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $163.9090. The stock had a trading volume of 1,537,608 shares, compared to its average volume of 979,525. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $163.23 and a 200-day simple moving average of $158.38. Keysight Technologies Inc. has a one year low of $121.43 and a one year high of $186.20. The firm has a market cap of $28.21 billion, a PE ratio of 38.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.31 and a beta of 1.11. 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 - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, May 20th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.65 by $0.05. Keysight Technologies had a net margin of 14.50% and a return on equity of 19.65%. The company had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.28 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.41 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Keysight Technologies Inc. will post 6.32 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Keysight Technologies

In related news, SVP Ingrid A. Estrada sold 10,000 shares of Keysight Technologies stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.97, for a total transaction of $1,589,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Satish Dhanasekaran sold 658 shares of Keysight Technologies stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.78, for a total transaction of $103,819.24. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 115,576 shares of the company's stock, valued at $18,235,581.28. The trade was a 0.57% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 31,830 shares of company stock worth $5,124,049 in the last ninety days. 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.