Jefferies Financial Group Inc. Lowers Position in MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI)

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group Inc. significantly reduced its stake in MKS Inc. by 96.4%, leaving it with just 4,053 shares valued at approximately $325,000.
• MKS announced a quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share, with a yield of 0.9%, to be paid on September 5th to investors of record on August 25th.
• Several analysts have upgraded their ratings on MKS, with average price targets now as high as $119.80 and sentiments leaning towards a "Moderate Buy" consensus.

Jefferies Financial Group Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI - Free Report) by 96.4% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,053 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after selling 107,893 shares during the period. Jefferies Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in MKS were worth $325,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Madison Asset Management LLC raised its position in MKS by 52.9% during the first quarter. Madison Asset Management LLC now owns 1,428,143 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $114,466,000 after acquiring an additional 494,207 shares in the last quarter. Shapiro Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in MKS during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $48,228,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in MKS by 9.7% during the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,388,639 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $271,599,000 after acquiring an additional 300,356 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in MKS during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,312,000. Finally, D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. raised its position in MKS by 158.5% during the fourth quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 367,437 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $38,357,000 after acquiring an additional 225,285 shares in the last quarter. 99.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MKS Price Performance

Shares of MKSI traded up $0.60 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $99.37. 1,204,428 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,072,653. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a current ratio of 2.99. MKS Inc. has a 12-month low of $54.84 and a 12-month high of $125.33. The company has a market cap of $6.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.86. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $97.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $90.44.

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $973.00 million during 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 firm's quarterly revenue was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.53 EPS. Research analysts expect that MKS Inc. will post 6.94 earnings per share for the current year.

MKS Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 25th will be issued a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 25th. MKS's dividend payout ratio is presently 22.34%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of MKS in a research report on Friday. Needham & Company LLC cut their price objective on MKS from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on MKS from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday. Wall Street Zen upgraded MKS from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price objective on MKS from $105.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $119.80.

Insider Buying and Selling at MKS

In other MKS news, Director Jacqueline F. Moloney sold 300 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.10, for a total value of $27,630.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 11,862 shares in the company, valued at $1,092,490.20. This represents a 2.47% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP David Philip Henry sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 20,571 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,159,955. The trade was a 8.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.57% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.