EP Wealth Advisors LLC Takes $278,000 Position in MKS Inc. $MKSI

EP Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 3,466 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock, valued at approximately $278,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings in shares of MKS by 28.2% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 524,837 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $42,066,000 after purchasing an additional 115,496 shares during the last quarter. Harber Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of MKS in the 1st quarter valued at $6,584,000. Sculptor Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of MKS in the 1st quarter valued at $5,073,000. Kodai Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of MKS by 138.3% in the 1st quarter. Kodai Capital Management LP now owns 708,021 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $56,748,000 after purchasing an additional 410,865 shares during the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its holdings in shares of MKS by 10.6% in the 1st quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 543,421 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $43,560,000 after purchasing an additional 51,924 shares during the last quarter. 99.79% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at MKS

In related news, EVP David Philip Henry sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.00, for a total transaction of $210,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Elizabeth Mora sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.85, for a total transaction of $29,955.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 19,263 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,923,410.55. This represents a 1.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 2,600 shares of company stock valued at $267,585. Company insiders own 0.57% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of MKS from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Needham & Company LLC reduced their target price on shares of MKS from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of MKS from $105.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their target price on shares of MKS from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of MKS in a report on Thursday, July 10th. They set a "sell" rating and a $90.00 target price on the stock. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, MKS currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $119.80.

MKS Stock Performance

MKS stock traded down $0.90 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $115.10. 1,321,788 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 910,320. The company has a current ratio of 2.99, a quick ratio of 1.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $102.65 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $89.82. The firm has a market cap of $7.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.21, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.94. MKS Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $54.84 and a fifty-two week high of $125.33.

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.77 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.16. The company 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 period in the prior year, the business posted $1.53 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that MKS Inc. will post 6.94 earnings per share for the current year.

MKS Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 25th were paid a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 25th. MKS's dividend payout ratio is currently 22.34%.

MKS Company 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.