Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. Increases Stake in Keysight Technologies Inc. $KEYS

Key Points

• Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management dramatically increased its Keysight Technologies stake in the fourth quarter, lifting holdings by 8,973.3% to 179,743 shares worth about $36.5 million.
• Keysight reported better-than-expected quarterly results, posting EPS of $2.87 versus the $2.32 estimate and revenue of $1.72 billion, up 31.5% year over year. The company also guided Q3 2026 EPS to a range of 2.430–2.490.
• Analysts have turned more optimistic on KEYS, with several firms raising price targets and the consensus rating sitting at Moderate Buy with an average target price of $371.92.

Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. lifted its stake in Keysight Technologies Inc. (NYSE:KEYS - Free Report) by 8,973.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 179,743 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after purchasing an additional 177,762 shares during the quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. owned about 0.10% of Keysight Technologies worth $36,522,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of KEYS. Woodline Partners LP purchased a new position in shares of Keysight Technologies in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $208,891,000. M&T Bank Corp raised its position in shares of Keysight Technologies by 9,349.0% in the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 1,048,176 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $212,979,000 after purchasing an additional 1,037,083 shares during the last quarter. Man Group plc raised its position in shares of Keysight Technologies by 164.3% in the 2nd quarter. Man Group plc now owns 1,010,399 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $165,564,000 after purchasing an additional 628,082 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Keysight Technologies by 2,004.8% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 572,836 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $93,865,000 after buying an additional 545,620 shares during the period. Finally, Alyeska Investment Group L.P. acquired a new position in Keysight Technologies in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $90,914,000. 84.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Keysight Technologies Price Performance

Keysight Technologies stock opened at $338.54 on Friday. The company's fifty day moving average price is $327.62 and its 200 day moving average price is $260.31. Keysight Technologies Inc. has a 1 year low of $152.85 and a 1 year high of $370.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $58.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.68, a P/E/G ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 1.26. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a current ratio of 1.90.

Keysight Technologies (NYSE:KEYS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 19th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $2.87 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.32 by $0.55. Keysight Technologies had a net margin of 17.25% and a return on equity of 21.58%. The firm had revenue of $1.72 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.71 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.70 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 31.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Keysight Technologies has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 2.430-2.490 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Keysight Technologies Inc. will post 8.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on KEYS. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Keysight Technologies from $310.00 to $376.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Keysight Technologies from $305.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Susquehanna increased their price target on shares of Keysight Technologies from $415.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Keysight Technologies from $300.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Keysight Technologies from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, February 28th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nine have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Keysight Technologies currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $371.92.

Insider Activity at Keysight Technologies

In related news, CFO Neil Dougherty sold 2,000 shares of Keysight Technologies stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $298.37, for a total value of $596,740.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 125,272 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $37,377,406.64. This trade represents a 1.57% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Ronald S. Nersesian sold 30,000 shares of Keysight Technologies stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.96, for a total transaction of $8,578,800.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 163,377 shares in the company, valued at approximately $46,719,286.92. This trade represents a 15.51% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 37,334 shares of company stock worth $10,753,450 over the last 90 days. 0.40% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Keysight Technologies

Keysight Technologies is a global provider of electronic design, test, measurement and optimization solutions for communications, electronics and related industries. The company was formed as a corporate spin-off from Agilent Technologies in 2014; its origins trace back to the electronic measurement business that was part of Hewlett‑Packard before Agilent. Keysight develops hardware and software used throughout the product development lifecycle, from design and simulation to prototype validation and manufacturing test.

Keysight's product portfolio includes electronic test and measurement instruments such as oscilloscopes, network and spectrum analyzers, signal generators, vector network analyzers and modular PXI-based systems, together with software platforms for simulation, automated test and data analysis.

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