Amundi Has $6.37 Million Stock Holdings in MKS Inc. $MKSI

Key Points

• Amundi has reduced its stake in MKS Inc. by 71.5% in the first quarter, decreasing its ownership to 79,492 shares worth $6.37 million.
• Several research firms have provided varying ratings for MKS, with Goldman Sachs issuing a "sell" rating and Cantor Fitzgerald increasing their price target to $120, indicating mixed sentiments among analysts.
• MKS recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.22, translating to an annualized yield of 0.8%, with a payout ratio of 22.34%.

Amundi lessened its position in shares of MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI - Free Report) by 71.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 79,492 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after selling 199,458 shares during the period. Amundi owned approximately 0.12% of MKS worth $6,371,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Teacher Retirement System of Texas bought a new stake in shares of MKS during the 1st quarter worth approximately $789,000. Artemis Investment Management LLP lifted its stake in MKS by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 251,799 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $20,182,000 after purchasing an additional 5,422 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp lifted its stake in MKS by 15.5% in the 1st quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 18,884 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $1,513,000 after purchasing an additional 2,530 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in MKS by 16.2% in the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 110,765 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $8,878,000 after purchasing an additional 15,482 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its stake in MKS by 33.7% in the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 11,973 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $960,000 after purchasing an additional 3,021 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.79% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at MKS

In other news, Director Jacqueline F. Moloney sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.10, for a total transaction 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Elizabeth Mora sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.85, for a total transaction of $29,955.00. Following the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. 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 three months. 0.57% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

MKS Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of MKSI stock traded down $0.90 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $115.10. 1,321,788 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 910,320. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $102.65 and its 200 day simple moving average is $89.87. The stock has a market cap of $7.73 billion, a PE ratio of 29.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.94. MKS Inc. has a 12 month low of $54.84 and a 12 month high of $125.33. 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 quarterly 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. MKS had a net margin of 7.11% and a return on equity of 20.65%. The firm had revenue of $973.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $931.05 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.53 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that MKS Inc. will post 6.94 EPS for the current year.

MKS Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 25th were given a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 25th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. MKS's dividend payout ratio is 22.34%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on MKSI. Needham & Company LLC dropped their price objective on shares of MKS from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of MKS from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Sunday, September 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of MKS in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. They issued a "sell" rating and a $90.00 price objective for the company. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of MKS from $105.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price objective on shares of MKS from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, MKS presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $119.80.

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.