MKS Inc. $MKSI Shares Sold by Nordea Investment Management AB

Key Points

• Nordea Investment Management AB reduced its stake in MKS Inc. by 25.5% during Q2, selling 579,333 shares and now owning approximately 2.51% of the company valued at $167.67 million.
• Several hedge funds have increased their positions in MKS, with Wellington Management Group LLP raising its stake by 41.8% and Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. by 843.4% in the same quarter.
• MKS reported $1.77 EPS in its latest quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations, and currently maintains an average target price of $130.70 from research analysts.

Nordea Investment Management AB lowered its stake in MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI - Free Report) by 25.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,693,950 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after selling 579,333 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB owned about 2.51% of MKS worth $167,667,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MKSI. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in MKS by 41.8% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,250,085 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $260,494,000 after purchasing an additional 958,607 shares in the last quarter. Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. raised its position in MKS by 843.4% in the 2nd quarter. Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. now owns 690,287 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $68,587,000 after purchasing an additional 617,113 shares in the last quarter. Channing Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in MKS in the 1st quarter valued at about $44,320,000. Madison Asset Management LLC raised its position in MKS by 52.9% in the 1st 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 purchasing an additional 494,207 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kodai Capital Management LP raised its position in MKS by 138.3% in the 1st quarter. Kodai Capital Management LP now owns 708,021 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $56,748,000 after purchasing an additional 410,865 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.79% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at MKS

In other MKS news, EVP David Philip Henry sold 5,000 shares of MKS stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.00, for a total value of $650,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 15,571 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,024,230. This trade represents a 24.31% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Elizabeth Mora sold 300 shares of MKS 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 transaction, the director owned 19,263 shares in the company, valued at $1,923,410.55. This trade represents a 1.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 5,900 shares of company stock worth $744,227. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MKSI has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of MKS in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of MKS in a report on Friday, August 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on MKS from $92.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Mizuho increased their price objective on MKS from $118.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $151.00 price objective on shares of MKS in a report on Monday. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $130.70.

MKS Trading Down 0.9%

NASDAQ:MKSI opened at $136.52 on Friday. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $116.77 and its 200 day moving average price is $97.23. The company has a market capitalization of $9.17 billion, a PE ratio of 34.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.97. 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 Inc. has a 52-week low of $54.84 and a 52-week high of $142.20.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $973.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.53 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that MKS Inc. will post 6.94 EPS for the current year.

MKS Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 5th. Investors of record on Monday, August 25th were paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 25th. MKS's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.

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