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 stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.00, for a total value of $650,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 15,571 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,024,230. The trade was a 24.31% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

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 value of $210,000.00.

MKS Price Performance

Shares of MKS stock traded down $2.34 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $127.58. 882,326 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,182,722. The business has a 50-day moving average of $103.94 and a 200 day moving average of $90.69. MKS Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $54.84 and a fifty-two week high of $132.44. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.57 billion, a PE ratio of 32.34, a PEG ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 1.94. The company has a quick ratio of 1.88, a current ratio of 2.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71.

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

MKS Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 5th. Investors of record on Monday, August 25th were issued a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 25th. MKS's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.34%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in MKS by 5.2% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 3,515,373 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $281,758,000 after buying an additional 173,945 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in MKS by 9.7% in the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,388,639 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $271,599,000 after buying an additional 300,356 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in MKS by 41.8% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,250,085 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $260,494,000 after buying an additional 958,607 shares in the last quarter. Madison Asset Management LLC raised its stake in MKS by 52.9% in the first quarter. Madison Asset Management LLC now owns 1,428,143 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $114,466,000 after buying an additional 494,207 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in MKS by 2.9% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,258,108 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $125,025,000 after buying an additional 35,065 shares in the last quarter. 99.79% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on MKSI shares. Zacks Research cut MKS from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "buy" rating on shares of MKS in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Wall Street Zen cut MKS from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Sunday, September 7th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on MKS from $100.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald raised their target price on MKS from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently 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.

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