MKS Inc. $MKSI Shares Sold by Expect Equity LLC

Key Points

• Expect Equity LLC reduced its stake in MKS Inc. by 9.7% during Q1 2023, owning 29,610 shares valued at approximately $2.37 million.
• Several institutional investors, including Wellington Management and Madison Asset Management, significantly increased their positions in MKS during the same quarter, indicating strong institutional interest in the stock.
• MKS Inc. reported earnings of $1.77 per share, surpassing estimates, with revenues up 9.7% year-over-year, reflecting positive growth trends in their financial performance.

Expect Equity LLC trimmed its holdings in MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI - Free Report) by 9.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 29,610 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after selling 3,170 shares during the period. MKS accounts for about 2.7% of Expect Equity LLC's holdings, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. Expect Equity LLC's holdings in MKS were worth $2,373,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Teacher Retirement System of Texas acquired a new stake in shares of MKS in the first quarter valued at about $789,000. Artemis Investment Management LLP grew its holdings in shares of MKS by 2.2% in the first quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 251,799 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $20,182,000 after purchasing an additional 5,422 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp grew its holdings in shares of MKS by 15.5% in the first quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 18,884 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $1,513,000 after purchasing an additional 2,530 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of MKS by 16.2% in the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 110,765 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $8,878,000 after purchasing an additional 15,482 shares during the period. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its holdings in shares of MKS by 33.7% in the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 11,973 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $960,000 after purchasing an additional 3,021 shares during the period. 99.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on MKSI shares. Zacks Research lowered shares of MKS from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "buy" rating on shares of MKS in a report on Friday, August 8th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of MKS from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective 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. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lowered their target price on shares of MKS from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Eight investment 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 MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $119.80.

Insider Activity at MKS

In related news, EVP David Philip Henry sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.00, for a total value of $210,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 20,571 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,159,955. This trade represents a 8.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Jacqueline F. Moloney sold 300 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.10, for a total transaction of $27,630.00. Following the completion of 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.51% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

MKS Stock Down 2.0%

Shares of MKSI traded down $2.04 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $99.91. 144,540 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,171,176. The company has a market cap of $6.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.20 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. 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 stock's 50-day moving average is $101.61 and its 200-day moving average is $89.51.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $973.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $931.05 million. MKS had a net margin of 7.11% and a return on equity of 20.65%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.53 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that MKS Inc. will post 6.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MKS Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 5th. Investors of record on Monday, August 25th will be issued a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 25th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. MKS's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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.