Insider Selling: MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) EVP Sells 2,000 Shares of Stock

MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI - Get Free Report) EVP David Philip Henry sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 20,571 shares in the company, valued at $2,159,955. This trade represents a 8.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

MKS Stock Up 1.2%

NASDAQ MKSI traded up $1.22 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $107.00. 827,162 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,056,760. MKS Inc. has a 1-year low of $54.84 and a 1-year high of $147.40. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $90.26 and a 200-day simple moving average of $92.26. The company has a current ratio of 3.11, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87. The company has a market cap of $7.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.88.

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.71 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.42 by $0.29. The company had revenue of $936.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $913.59 million. MKS had a return on equity of 20.67% and a net margin of 6.21%. The business's revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.18 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that MKS Inc. will post 6.94 EPS for the current year.

MKS Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th were given a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 27th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.82%. MKS's payout ratio is 26.27%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wedmont Private Capital acquired a new position in MKS during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $280,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its position in MKS by 265.5% during the 2nd quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 837 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $83,000 after purchasing an additional 608 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its position in MKS by 63.9% during the 2nd quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 952 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $95,000 after purchasing an additional 371 shares during the period. eCIO Inc. acquired a new position in MKS during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $77,000. Finally, Strs Ohio acquired a new position in MKS during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $4,239,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.79% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MKSI has been the topic of a number of research reports. Needham & Company LLC cut their price objective on MKS from $145.00 to $140.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded MKS from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $110.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on MKS from $85.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price objective on MKS from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on MKS in a report on Thursday. They issued a "sell" rating and a $90.00 price objective on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, MKS has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $126.36.

About MKS

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.