MKS Inc. $MKSI Stake Lessened by Inspire Investing LLC

Key Points

• Inspire Investing LLC has reduced its stake in MKS Inc. by 63.7%, owning 4,317 shares worth $346,000 following the sale of 7,583 shares.
• Several institutions increased their holdings in MKS, with Wellington Management raising theirs by 41.8% to own over 3.25 million shares valued at $260.5 million.
• MKS Inc. reported a 9.7% year-over-year revenue increase, earning $1.77 per share, exceeding analysts' expectations for the quarter.

Inspire Investing LLC lowered its holdings in MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI - Free Report) by 63.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,317 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after selling 7,583 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC's holdings in MKS were worth $346,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in shares of MKS by 5.2% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 3,515,373 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $281,758,000 after acquiring an additional 173,945 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of 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 worth $271,599,000 after acquiring an additional 300,356 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of MKS by 41.8% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,250,085 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $260,494,000 after acquiring an additional 958,607 shares in the last quarter. Madison Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 worth $114,466,000 after acquiring an additional 494,207 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cooke & Bieler LP raised its holdings in shares of MKS by 18.5% during the first quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 1,038,945 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $83,271,000 after acquiring an additional 161,905 shares in the last quarter. 99.79% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MKSI. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on MKS in a report on Thursday, July 10th. They set a "sell" rating and a $90.00 price objective for the company. Zacks Research lowered MKS from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their target price on MKS from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Needham & Company LLC cut their target price on MKS from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered MKS from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Sunday, September 7th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $119.80.

MKS Stock Down 0.8%

MKSI stock opened at $115.10 on Monday. MKS Inc. has a twelve month low of $54.84 and a twelve month high of $125.33. The company has a market cap of $7.73 billion, a PE ratio of 29.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.94. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $102.65 and its 200 day simple moving average is $89.81. 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 for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $973.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $931.05 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.53 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research 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 was paid on Friday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 25th were paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 25th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. MKS's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.34%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other MKS news, EVP David Philip Henry sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.00, for a total transaction 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. This trade represents a 8.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Elizabeth Mora sold 300 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.85, for a total transaction 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 represents a 1.53% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 2,600 shares of company stock worth $267,585 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.57% of the company's stock.

MKS 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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