Great Lakes Advisors LLC Sells 135,335 Shares of MKS Inc. $MKSI

Key Points

• Great Lakes Advisors LLC has significantly reduced its stake in MKS Inc. by 76.2%, selling 135,335 shares and retaining 42,156 shares worth approximately $3.38 million.
• MKS recently reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $1.77, exceeding expectations and marking a 9.7% increase in revenue year-over-year.
• The firm declared a quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 0.8%, with a payout ratio of 22.34%.

Great Lakes Advisors LLC cut its position in MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI - Free Report) by 76.2% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 42,156 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after selling 135,335 shares during the quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC owned about 0.06% of MKS worth $3,379,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new position in shares of MKS in the first quarter valued at $939,000. NFJ Investment Group LLC lifted its holdings in MKS by 344.5% during the 1st quarter. NFJ Investment Group LLC now owns 60,094 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $4,817,000 after purchasing an additional 46,575 shares during the last quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV lifted its holdings in MKS by 8.6% during the 1st quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan ADV now owns 40,366 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $3,235,000 after purchasing an additional 3,210 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC lifted its holdings in MKS by 132.2% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 545,109 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $43,690,000 after purchasing an additional 310,314 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AQR Arbitrage LLC acquired a new stake in MKS during the 1st quarter valued at $2,381,000. 99.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at MKS

In related 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 sale, the executive vice president directly owned 20,571 shares in the company, valued at $2,159,955. This represents a 8.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Elizabeth Mora sold 300 shares of the company'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 value of $29,955.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 19,263 shares in the company, valued at $1,923,410.55. The trade was a 1.53% 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 worth $267,585 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.51% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on MKSI shares. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on MKS in a report on Thursday, July 10th. They set a "sell" rating and a $90.00 price target for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price target on MKS from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on MKS from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Mizuho lifted their target price on MKS from $105.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC dropped their target price on MKS from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, MKS presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $119.80.

MKS Trading Up 1.3%

Shares of NASDAQ:MKSI traded up $1.49 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $117.87. 193,669 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,169,685. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.94. 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 business's 50-day moving average price is $102.93 and its 200 day moving average price is $89.98. MKS Inc. has a 12 month low of $54.84 and a 12 month high of $125.33.

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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. The company had revenue of $973.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $931.05 million. MKS had a return on equity of 20.65% and a net margin of 7.11%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.53 earnings per share. Analysts predict that MKS Inc. will post 6.94 earnings per share for the current year.

MKS Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 25th were issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 25th. MKS's payout ratio is 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.