First National Advisers LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Keysight Technologies Inc. (NYSE:KEYS)

First National Advisers LLC boosted its holdings in Keysight Technologies Inc. (NYSE:KEYS) by 7.5% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 6,596 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after purchasing an additional 458 shares during the period. First National Advisers LLC’s holdings in Keysight Technologies were worth $988,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division boosted its holdings in Keysight Technologies by 97.8% in the first quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 182 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its holdings in Keysight Technologies by 39.9% in the first 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. Sunbelt Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in Keysight Technologies by 241.8% in the fourth quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 270 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $44,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. Goodman Advisory Group LLC purchased a new position in Keysight Technologies in the first quarter valued at about $51,000. Finally, Quarry LP lifted its holdings in Keysight Technologies by 188.1% during the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 435 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $70,000 after buying an additional 284 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.58% of the company’s stock.

Keysight Technologies Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of Keysight Technologies stock opened at $166.42 on Monday. Keysight Technologies Inc. has a twelve month low of $119.72 and a twelve month high of $186.20. The company has a current ratio of 3.39, a quick ratio of 2.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.07, a PEG ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 1.09. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $162.13 and its 200-day simple moving average is $158.85.

Keysight Technologies (NYSE:KEYS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 20th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.65 by $0.05. Keysight Technologies had a return on equity of 19.65% and a net margin of 14.50%. The firm had revenue of $1.32 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.28 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.41 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 7.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Keysight Technologies Inc. will post 6.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have commented on KEYS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Keysight Technologies from $177.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Keysight Technologies from $156.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 13th. Finally, Bank of America raised Keysight Technologies from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $170.00 to $175.00 in a report on Monday, July 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Keysight Technologies has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $187.50.

Insider Transactions at Keysight Technologies

In related news, Director Richard P. Hamada sold 1,589 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.00, for a total value of $257,418.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 42,160 shares in the company, valued at $6,829,920. This trade represents a 3.63% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through 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 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 approximately $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 sold 31,830 shares of company stock worth $5,124,049 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.61% of the company’s stock.

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.