Willis Investment Counsel Grows Stock Holdings in Keysight Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:KEYS)

Willis Investment Counsel increased its stake in shares of Keysight Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:KEYS) by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 73,486 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,152 shares during the quarter. Willis Investment Counsel’s holdings in Keysight Technologies were worth $11,679,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Park Avenue Securities LLC raised its stake in Keysight Technologies by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 7,830 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $1,224,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in Keysight Technologies by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. now owns 12,700 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $1,737,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital raised its stake in Keysight Technologies by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 2,754 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $391,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Diversified LLC raised its stake in Keysight Technologies by 3.6% during the 2nd quarter. Diversified LLC now owns 2,259 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $309,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares in the last quarter. Finally, KCM Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Keysight Technologies by 3.6% during the 1st quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,332 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $365,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. 84.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Keysight Technologies Stock Up 1.0 %

KEYS stock opened at $159.01 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $27.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.64, a P/E/G ratio of 5.28 and a beta of 0.97. Keysight Technologies, Inc. has a 52 week low of $118.57 and a 52 week high of $162.51. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $147.05 and its 200 day moving average price is $145.11. The company has a current ratio of 2.05, a quick ratio of 1.52 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23.

Keysight Technologies (NYSE:KEYS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 20th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.22. Keysight Technologies had a net margin of 18.24% and a return on equity of 21.01%. The company had revenue of $1.22 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.19 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.04 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Keysight Technologies, Inc. will post 5.43 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on KEYS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Keysight Technologies from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Vertical Research began coverage on shares of Keysight Technologies in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $175.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $180.00 price objective on shares of Keysight Technologies in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of Keysight Technologies from $167.00 to $160.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 19th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of Keysight Technologies from $163.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $167.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at Keysight Technologies

In other news, Director Richard P. Hamada sold 1,632 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.00, for a total value of $254,592.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 42,160 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,576,960. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.60% of the company’s stock.

Keysight Technologies Company 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.