Vanguard Group Inc. Raises Holdings in Keysight Technologies Inc. (NYSE:KEYS)

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. has increased its stake in Keysight Technologies by 0.5%, now owning approximately 12.13% of the company, which is valued at around $3.14 billion.
• Other significant institutional investors, including Price T Rowe Associates and Kovitz Investment Group, have also raised their stakes in Keysight Technologies, indicating growing confidence in the company's prospects.
• Analysts have raised price targets for Keysight Technologies, with Morgan Stanley setting a new target of $180.00 and JPMorgan increasing theirs to $200.00, reflecting a strong positive outlook on the stock.

Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Keysight Technologies Inc. (NYSE:KEYS - Free Report) by 0.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,969,511 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after acquiring an additional 95,876 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 12.13% of Keysight Technologies worth $3,140,604,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in Keysight Technologies by 29.0% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 16,114,952 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $2,588,546,000 after buying an additional 3,621,349 shares in the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC raised its position in shares of Keysight Technologies by 364.6% during the 4th quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 4,652,311 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $747,301,000 after buying an additional 3,650,953 shares during the period. Capital World Investors raised its position in shares of Keysight Technologies by 15.6% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 3,790,432 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $608,857,000 after buying an additional 511,724 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in shares of Keysight Technologies by 9.0% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 2,593,611 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $416,612,000 after buying an additional 214,015 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in Keysight Technologies by 11.9% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 2,044,862 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $328,466,000 after purchasing an additional 217,851 shares during the last quarter. 84.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Keysight Technologies Stock Performance

Shares of KEYS traded up $2.20 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $169.29. 362,649 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 967,874. The firm has a market capitalization of $29.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.76, a P/E/G ratio of 2.28 and a beta of 1.11. Keysight Technologies Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $121.43 and a fifty-two week high of $186.20. The business's 50 day moving average is $162.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $158.60. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 20th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $1.32 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.28 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.41 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Keysight Technologies Inc. will post 6.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Ingrid A. Estrada sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 108,590 shares of the company's stock, valued at $17,262,552.30. This trade represents a 8.43% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Neil Dougherty sold 12,215 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.60, for a total transaction of $2,010,589.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 115,228 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $18,966,528.80. This trade represents a 9.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 31,830 shares of company stock valued at $5,124,049 in the last 90 days. 0.61% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

KEYS has been the subject of several research reports. Morgan Stanley lifted 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. Bank of America upgraded shares of Keysight Technologies from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $170.00 to $175.00 in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Keysight Technologies from $177.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Keysight Technologies currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $187.50.

Keysight Technologies 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.