Swiss National Bank Trims Position in Keysight Technologies Inc. (NYSE:KEYS)

Key Points

• The Swiss National Bank reduced its holdings in Keysight Technologies Inc. by 0.4%, now owning 488,500 shares worth $73.16 million after selling 1,800 shares in the first quarter.
• Keysight Technologies reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $1.70 for the last quarter, surpassing the consensus estimate of $1.65, with a revenue of $1.32 billion.
• Analysts have recently upgraded Keysight Technologies with price targets ranging from $175.00 to $200.00, reflecting a generally positive outlook for the company's stock.

Swiss National Bank lessened its position in Keysight Technologies Inc. (NYSE:KEYS - Free Report) by 0.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 488,500 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after selling 1,800 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned approximately 0.28% of Keysight Technologies worth $73,163,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of KEYS. Private Trust Co. NA grew its stake 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 purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. grew its position in Keysight Technologies by 9.1% in the 1st quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 910 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $146,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the last quarter. Haven Private LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Keysight Technologies by 2.1% in the first quarter. Haven Private LLC now owns 3,974 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $595,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Keysight Technologies by 14.2% in the first quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 669 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $100,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Integrated Advisors Network LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Keysight Technologies by 4.8% in the first quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 1,847 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $277,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.58% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

KEYS has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Keysight Technologies from $177.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Bank of America upgraded Keysight Technologies from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $170.00 to $175.00 in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Keysight Technologies from $156.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 13th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $187.50.

Keysight Technologies Price Performance

KEYS traded down $5.62 during trading on Thursday, reaching $164.61. 841,749 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 794,774. Keysight Technologies Inc. has a 1 year low of $121.43 and a 1 year high of $186.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46, a current ratio of 3.39 and a quick ratio of 2.75. The business's 50 day moving average price is $163.15 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $158.65. The company 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.

Keysight Technologies (NYSE:KEYS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 20th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.28 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.41 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Keysight Technologies Inc. will post 6.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Keysight Technologies

In other news, 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 value of $1,589,700.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 108,590 shares in the company, valued at $17,262,552.30. This represents a 8.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, 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 value of $2,010,589.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 115,228 shares in the company, valued at $18,966,528.80. This represents a 9.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. 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 quarter. Insiders own 0.61% of the company's stock.

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.