Retirement Systems of Alabama Cuts Stock Position in Keysight Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:KEYS)

Retirement Systems of Alabama lessened its position in Keysight Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:KEYS) by 3.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 39,136 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 1,195 shares during the quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama’s holdings in Keysight Technologies were worth $6,226,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Keysight Technologies by 145.9% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 268 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $43,000 after buying an additional 159 shares during the period. Everence Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Keysight Technologies by 161.6% during the 4th quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. now owns 20,071 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $3,193,000 after purchasing an additional 12,400 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Keysight Technologies by 45.5% during the 3rd quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 282,601 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $37,390,000 after purchasing an additional 88,406 shares during the period. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Keysight Technologies by 5.7% during the 3rd quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,778 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $368,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in Keysight Technologies by 27.6% during the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 718,297 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $96,209,000 after purchasing an additional 155,226 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.58% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on KEYS shares. Barclays upped their price target on Keysight Technologies from $134.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Citigroup upped their price target on Keysight Technologies from $157.00 to $168.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. downgraded Keysight Technologies from an “overweight” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $184.00 to $170.00 in a report on Thursday, February 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Keysight Technologies presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $160.63.

Insider Activity at Keysight Technologies

In other Keysight Technologies news, SVP Kailash Narayanan sold 4,300 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $152.88, for a total transaction of $657,384.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 29,156 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,457,369.28. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Keysight Technologies Trading Up 1.5 %

NYSE:KEYS opened at $149.18 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $152.59 and a 200-day simple moving average of $147.36. The stock has a market cap of $26.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.37, a P/E/G ratio of 6.76 and a beta of 1.06. Keysight Technologies, Inc. has a 1 year low of $118.57 and a 1 year high of $172.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 1.44 and a current ratio of 1.93.

Keysight Technologies (NYSE:KEYS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $1.26 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.25 billion. Keysight Technologies had a return on equity of 26.84% and a net margin of 18.14%. The business’s revenue was down 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.72 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Keysight Technologies, Inc. will post 5.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.