AQR Arbitrage LLC Acquires New Holdings in MKS Inc. $MKSI

Key Points

• AQR Arbitrage LLC acquired a new stake of 30,200 shares in MKS Inc., valued at approximately $2.38 million, during the 1st quarter.
• Analysts have mixed ratings for MKS, with target prices varying from $90.00 to $112.00, resulting in an average target price of $119.80 and a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy."
• MKS announced a quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share, representing a yield of 0.9%, to be paid on September 5th.

AQR Arbitrage LLC acquired a new position in MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 30,200 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock, valued at approximately $2,381,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of MKS by 19.4% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 70,211 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $5,534,000 after buying an additional 11,403 shares in the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MKS in the first quarter worth $278,000. Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in shares of MKS by 28.2% in the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 524,837 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $42,066,000 after buying an additional 115,496 shares in the last quarter. Harber Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in MKS during the first quarter valued at about $6,584,000. Finally, Sculptor Capital LP purchased a new stake in MKS during the first quarter valued at about $5,073,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.79% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on MKSI. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on MKS in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. They set a "sell" rating and a $90.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on MKS from $100.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a "buy" rating on shares of MKS in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Zacks Research downgraded MKS from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on MKS from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $119.80.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Elizabeth Mora sold 300 shares of the firm's 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 transaction, the director directly owned 19,263 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,923,410.55. This trade represents a 1.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Jacqueline F. Moloney sold 300 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.10, for a total transaction of $27,630.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 11,862 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,092,490.20. This trade represents a 2.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 2,600 shares of company stock valued at $267,585 in the last ninety days. 0.51% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

MKS Stock Performance

MKSI traded up $1.93 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $106.42. 440,986 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,166,417. MKS Inc. has a 52-week low of $54.84 and a 52-week high of $125.33. The company's fifty day moving average price is $101.75 and its 200-day moving average price is $89.31. The company has a quick ratio of 1.88, a current ratio of 2.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.94.

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

MKS Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 25th were given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date 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.