AQR Capital Management LLC Buys 11,403 Shares of MKS Inc. $MKSI

Key Points

• AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in MKS Inc. by 19.4%, owning approximately 70,211 shares valued at $5.53 million as of its latest SEC filing.
• Several other institutional investors also boosted their positions in MKS during the first quarter, with Wellington Management Group leading with an increase of 41.8%, now holding over 3.25 million shares.
• MKS recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share, translating to an annualized yield of 0.8%, reflecting a payout ratio of 22.34%.

AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI - Free Report) by 19.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 70,211 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after acquiring an additional 11,403 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC owned 0.10% of MKS worth $5,534,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. EP Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in MKS in the 1st quarter valued at $278,000. Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in 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 valued at $42,066,000 after acquiring an additional 115,496 shares during the last quarter. Harber Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of MKS during the first quarter worth $6,584,000. Sculptor Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of MKS during the 1st quarter valued at $5,073,000. Finally, Kodai Capital Management LP increased its holdings in MKS by 138.3% during the 1st quarter. Kodai Capital Management LP now owns 708,021 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $56,748,000 after purchasing an additional 410,865 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.79% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. Wall Street Zen cut MKS from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Sunday, September 7th. Mizuho increased their price target on MKS from $105.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price objective on shares of MKS from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Zacks Research cut shares of MKS from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price 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 issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, MKS currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $119.80.

Insider Activity at MKS

In other news, EVP David Philip Henry sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.00, for a total value of $210,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Jacqueline F. Moloney sold 300 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.10, for a total transaction of $27,630.00. Following the sale, 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 sold a total of 2,600 shares of company stock valued at $267,585 over the last quarter. 0.51% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

MKS Price Performance

MKSI stock traded up $1.28 during trading on Monday, hitting $116.38. The company had a trading volume of 1,173,745 shares, compared to its average volume of 923,663. 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 market capitalization of $7.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.54, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.94. The business has a 50 day moving average of $102.93 and a 200 day moving average of $89.98. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.77 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business had revenue of $973.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $931.05 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.53 earnings per share. MKS's quarterly revenue was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that MKS Inc. will post 6.94 earnings per share for the current year.

MKS Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 25th were issued a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a 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 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.