Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. Sells 9,979 Shares of MKS Inc. $MKSI

Key Points

• Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. decreased its stake in MKS Inc. by 9.1%, selling 9,979 shares and now owns 99,776 shares valued at approximately $9.9 million.
• MKS Inc. reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $1.77, surpassing estimates by $0.16, with revenue reaching $973 million, marking a year-over-year increase of 9.7%.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.22, with an annualized yield of 0.8% and a payout ratio of 22.34%.

Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. cut its holdings in MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI - Free Report) by 9.1% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 99,776 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after selling 9,979 shares during the quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. owned about 0.15% of MKS worth $9,914,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of MKS by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 11,943 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $1,247,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors boosted its stake in MKS by 66.7% during the 1st 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 boosted its stake in MKS by 1.3% during the 1st 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 boosted its stake in MKS by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 18,900 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $1,515,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue boosted its stake in MKS by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 7,881 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $631,000 after acquiring an additional 205 shares during the last quarter. 99.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP David Philip Henry sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.00, for a total value of $650,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 15,571 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,024,230. The trade was a 24.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 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 value of $27,630.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 11,862 shares in the company, valued at $1,092,490.20. This trade represents a 2.47% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 7,600 shares of company stock valued at $917,585. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

MKS Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MKSI traded down $1.30 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $128.62. 5,743,636 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,074,754. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 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. MKS Inc. has a 52 week low of $54.84 and a 52 week high of $132.44. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $104.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $90.98.

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 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 business had revenue of $973.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $931.05 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.53 earnings per share. MKS's revenue for the quarter was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 25th were given a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 25th. MKS's payout ratio is currently 22.34%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on MKSI shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of MKS from $100.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded MKS from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their target price on MKS from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of MKS from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of MKS from $105.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $119.80.

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.