ING Groep NV Grows Stock Position in Keysight Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:KEYS)

ING Groep NV increased its position in shares of Keysight Technologies, Inc. (NYSE:KEYS - Free Report) by 478.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 135,843 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after acquiring an additional 112,354 shares during the quarter. ING Groep NV owned about 0.08% of Keysight Technologies worth $21,590,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Swedbank AB increased its stake in Keysight Technologies by 7.1% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 4,421,264 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $702,671,000 after purchasing an additional 292,372 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in Keysight Technologies by 352.6% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 3,160,879 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $494,299,000 after acquiring an additional 2,462,543 shares during the last quarter. Capital World Investors purchased a new position in Keysight Technologies in the 1st quarter worth $250,097,000. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in Keysight Technologies by 6.1% in the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,378,723 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $188,540,000 after acquiring an additional 79,774 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. raised its stake in Keysight Technologies by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 1,141,274 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $178,473,000 after acquiring an additional 42,126 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 84.58% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on KEYS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Keysight Technologies from $155.00 to $165.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Vertical Research initiated coverage on Keysight Technologies in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. They issued a "buy" rating and a $175.00 target price for the company. Bank of America increased their price target on Keysight Technologies from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on Keysight Technologies from $163.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, August 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $180.00 price target on shares of Keysight Technologies in a research report on Wednesday, August 21st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $170.89.

Insider Activity at Keysight Technologies

In related news, Director Richard P. Hamada sold 1,632 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.00, for a total value of $254,592.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 42,160 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,576,960. This trade represents a 3.73 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Keysight Technologies Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:KEYS traded down $4.31 during trading on Friday, reaching $149.37. 1,226,972 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,174,195. Keysight Technologies, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $119.72 and a fifty-two week high of $166.28. The company has a quick ratio of 1.52, a current ratio of 2.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The firm has a market cap of $25.92 billion, a PE ratio of 28.73, a P/E/G ratio of 4.65 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $155.17 and a 200-day simple moving average of $145.92.

Keysight Technologies (NYSE:KEYS - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 20th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.57 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.22. Keysight Technologies had a return on equity of 21.01% and a net margin of 18.24%. The firm had revenue of $1.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.19 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.04 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was down 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Keysight Technologies, Inc. will post 5.43 earnings per share for the current year.

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.