MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) Shares Sold by KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS lessened its position in MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) by 4.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 13,200 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 600 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS’s holdings in MKS were worth $1,058,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Optimum Investment Advisors lifted its stake in shares of MKS by 66.7% during the 1st quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 500 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its holdings in MKS by 89.3% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 581 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 274 shares during the period. Quarry LP increased its stake in shares of MKS by 1,330.9% during the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 787 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $82,000 after acquiring an additional 732 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC lifted its holdings in shares of MKS by 79.2% during the 1st quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 828 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $66,000 after acquiring an additional 366 shares during the period. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in shares of MKS during the 4th quarter worth about $89,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.79% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other MKS news, EVP David Philip Henry sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.00, for a total value of $210,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 20,571 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,159,955. This represents a 8.86% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.51% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

MKS Stock Up 2.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:MKSI opened at $102.33 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.88. The company has a 50 day moving average of $95.55 and a two-hundred day moving average of $91.59. MKS Inc. has a 52-week low of $54.84 and a 52-week high of $128.20. The company has a quick ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 3.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87.

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.29. The business had revenue of $936.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $913.59 million. MKS had a net margin of 6.21% and a return on equity of 20.67%. The business’s revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.18 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that MKS Inc. will post 6.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MKS Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th were paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 27th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.86%. MKS’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.27%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MKSI has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of MKS from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their target price on MKS from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on MKS from $85.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. Mizuho raised their price objective on MKS from $105.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on MKS in a report on Thursday, July 10th. They set a “sell” rating and a $90.00 target price for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, MKS has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $120.00.

MKS Profile

MKS Instruments, Inc provides foundational technology solutions to semiconductor manufacturing, electronics and packaging, and specialty industrial applications in the United States, Germany, China, South Korea, and internationally. It operates through Vacuum Solutions Division (VSD), Photonics Solutions Division (PSD), and Material Solutions Division (MSD) segments.