MKS Inc. $MKSI Shares Sold by Polaris Capital Management LLC

Key Points

• Polaris Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in MKS Inc. by 3.3%, owning 361,400 shares after selling 12,200 shares in the second quarter.
• Analyst ratings for MKS have improved, with eight analysts rating the stock as a "Buy" or better, and a consensus price target of $119.80.
• In the most recent earnings report, MKS exceeded analyst expectations with earnings of $1.77 per share and a revenue of $973 million, marking a 9.7% increase year-over-year.

Polaris Capital Management LLC lessened its stake in MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI - Free Report) by 3.3% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 361,400 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after selling 12,200 shares during the quarter. MKS makes up approximately 2.4% of Polaris Capital Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. Polaris Capital Management LLC owned about 0.54% of MKS worth $35,909,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of MKS by 5.2% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 3,515,373 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $281,758,000 after purchasing an additional 173,945 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of MKS by 9.7% in the 1st 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 purchasing an additional 300,356 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of 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. Madison Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of 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, Cooke & Bieler LP raised its stake in shares of MKS by 18.5% in the 1st quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 1,038,945 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $83,271,000 after purchasing an additional 161,905 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.79% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on MKSI shares. Wall Street Zen raised shares of MKS from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, September 20th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of MKS from $100.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. 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. 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, The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of MKS in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. They set a "sell" rating and a $90.00 price objective for the company. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, MKS has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $119.80.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Elizabeth Mora sold 300 shares of MKS stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.85, for a total value of $29,955.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 19,263 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,923,410.55. This trade represents a 1.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP David Philip Henry sold 5,000 shares of MKS stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.00, for a total value of $650,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 15,571 shares in the company, valued at $2,024,230. This represents a 24.31% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 5,900 shares of company stock valued at $744,227. 0.57% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

MKS Price Performance

NASDAQ:MKSI opened at $137.86 on Friday. The business's 50-day moving average price is $109.43 and its 200 day moving average price is $94.02. The firm has a market cap of $9.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.99, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.97. MKS Inc. has a 52-week low of $54.84 and a 52-week high of $140.33. 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 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 analyst estimates of $931.05 million. MKS had a return on equity of 20.65% and a net margin of 7.11%.MKS's revenue was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.53 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that MKS Inc. will post 6.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MKS Dividend Announcement

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

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