Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Makes New $991,000 Investment in MKS Inc. $MKSI

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management S.A. made a new investment in MKS Inc. worth approximately $991,000 by acquiring 9,971 shares during the second quarter.
• MKS reported a strong quarterly performance with $1.77 earnings per share, surpassing analysts' expectations, while revenues increased by 9.7% year-over-year.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share, reflecting an annualized yield of 0.7% and a payout ratio of 22.34%.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new position in MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 9,971 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock, valued at approximately $991,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Optimum Investment Advisors lifted its holdings 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 worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System lifted its holdings in MKS by 1.3% in the first quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 16,140 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $1,294,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System increased its stake in shares of MKS by 1.1% in the first quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 18,900 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $1,515,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its stake in shares of MKS by 2.7% in the first quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 7,881 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $631,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares during the period. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 period. Institutional investors own 99.79% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at MKS

In other news, Director Jacqueline F. Moloney sold 300 shares of MKS 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. The trade was a 2.47% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP David Philip Henry sold 5,000 shares of MKS stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.00, for a total transaction of $650,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 15,571 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,024,230. This trade represents a 24.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 7,600 shares of company stock worth $917,585. 0.57% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on MKSI shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of MKS from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, September 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a "buy" rating on shares of MKS in a research note on Friday, August 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of MKS in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. They issued a "sell" rating and a $90.00 price target on the stock. Needham & Company LLC dropped their price target on shares of MKS from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of MKS from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 26th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $119.80.

MKS Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:MKSI opened at $121.81 on Friday. 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 company has a market cap of $8.18 billion, a PE ratio of 30.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.94. MKS Inc. has a 52 week low of $54.84 and a 52 week high of $132.44. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $106.49 and a 200 day simple moving average of $92.53.

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 earned $1.53 EPS. The company's revenue was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that MKS Inc. will post 6.94 earnings per share for the current year.

MKS Announces Dividend

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

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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