LPL Financial LLC Sells 5,077 Shares of MKS Inc. $MKSI

Key Points

• LPL Financial LLC reduced its stake in MKS Inc. by 20.2%, owning 20,068 shares worth $1.6 million after selling 5,077 shares in the first quarter.
• MKS Inc. reported $1.77 earnings per share for the last quarter, surpassing estimates of $1.61, with revenue increasing 9.7% year-over-year to $973 million.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share, which is scheduled for payment on September 5th, with a current yield of 0.9%.

LPL Financial LLC decreased its position in shares of MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI - Free Report) by 20.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 20,068 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after selling 5,077 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC's holdings in MKS were worth $1,608,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its stake in MKS by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 11,943 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $1,247,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares during the period. Optimum Investment Advisors increased its stake in MKS by 66.7% during the first quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 500 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. State of Michigan Retirement System increased its stake in MKS by 1.3% during the first quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 16,140 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $1,294,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System increased its stake in MKS by 1.1% during 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 acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue increased its stake in MKS by 2.7% during 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 acquiring an additional 205 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.79% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on MKSI shares. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on MKS in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. They set a "sell" rating and a $90.00 price target on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered MKS from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on MKS from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of MKS in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Mizuho upped their price objective on MKS from $105.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $119.80.

MKS Price Performance

MKSI stock traded down $0.87 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $105.68. 749,313 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,115,036. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $100.74 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $89.76. MKS Inc. has a 1-year low of $54.84 and a 1-year high of $125.33. The company has a market cap of $7.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.82, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.86. The company has a quick ratio of 1.88, a current ratio of 2.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71.

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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.16. MKS had a return on equity of 20.65% and a net margin of 7.11%.The firm had revenue of $973.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $931.05 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.53 EPS. The business's revenue was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that MKS Inc. will post 6.94 earnings per share for the current year.

MKS Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 5th. Investors of record on Monday, August 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 25th. MKS's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.34%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other MKS news, Director Jacqueline F. Moloney sold 300 shares of the 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 transaction, 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP David Philip Henry sold 2,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 20,571 shares in the company, valued at $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 currently owned by company 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.