David Philip Henry Sells 5,000 Shares of MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) Stock

Key Points

• David Philip Henry, EVP of MKS Inc., sold 5,000 shares at an average price of $130.00, totaling $650,000, which represents a 24.31% decrease in his position.
• MKS Inc. recently declared a quarterly $0.22 dividend, yielding 0.7%, with a payout ratio of 22.34%.
• Despite recent sales by the executive, MKS stock remains under a Moderate Buy consensus rating, with eight analysts recommending Buy and an average target price of $119.80.

MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI - Get Free Report) EVP David Philip Henry sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.00, for a total value of $650,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 15,571 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,024,230. This represents a 24.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

David Philip Henry also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Thursday, July 3rd, David Philip Henry sold 2,000 shares of MKS stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.00, for a total transaction of $210,000.00.

MKS Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MKSI traded down $0.72 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $127.90. 1,135,801 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,316,438. MKS Inc. has a 1 year low of $54.84 and a 1 year high of $132.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71, a quick ratio of 1.88 and a current ratio of 2.99. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $104.85 and a 200 day moving average of $91.38.

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.77 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $973.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $931.05 million. MKS had a net margin of 7.11% and a return on equity of 20.65%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.53 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that MKS Inc. will post 6.94 earnings per share for the current year.

MKS Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 5th. Investors of record on Monday, August 25th were paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 25th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. MKS's payout ratio is 22.34%.

Institutional Trading of MKS

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MKSI. Bayforest Capital Ltd bought a new stake in shares of MKS during the second quarter worth $39,000. Optimum Investment Advisors grew its stake in MKS by 66.7% in the first quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 500 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Steph & Co. purchased a new position in MKS in the second quarter valued at about $42,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp purchased a new position in MKS in the second quarter valued at about $46,000. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC grew its stake in MKS by 89.3% in the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 581 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 274 shares during the last quarter. 99.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on MKSI shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on MKS from $100.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on MKS from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Wall Street Zen raised MKS from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday. Cantor Fitzgerald upped 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, Zacks Research cut MKS from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $119.80.

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.