Banco Santander S.A. Sells 7,841 Shares of MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI)

Key Points

• Banco Santander S.A. decreased its stake in MKS Inc. by 40.5% during the first quarter, leaving it with 11,499 shares valued at approximately $922,000.
• Several institutional investors significantly increased their holdings in MKS during the same period; for instance, Optimum Investment Advisors boosted its position by 66.7%.
• MKS's average price target has been set at $120.00, with recent analyst upgrades indicating a general sentiment of a "Moderate Buy" for the stock.

Banco Santander S.A. lowered its position in shares of MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI - Free Report) by 40.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 11,499 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after selling 7,841 shares during the period. Banco Santander S.A.'s holdings in MKS were worth $922,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MKSI. Optimum Investment Advisors increased its holdings in MKS by 66.7% during the 1st quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 500 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its holdings in MKS by 89.3% during the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 581 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 274 shares during the period. Quarry LP boosted its holdings in shares of MKS by 1,330.9% in the fourth quarter. Quarry LP now owns 787 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $82,000 after acquiring an additional 732 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC boosted its holdings in shares of MKS by 79.2% in the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 828 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $66,000 after acquiring an additional 366 shares during the period. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of MKS in the fourth quarter worth $89,000. Institutional investors own 99.79% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MKSI has been the topic of a number of research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded MKS from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $110.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on MKS from $105.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on MKS from $100.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Needham & Company LLC cut their target price on MKS from $145.00 to $140.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on MKS in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. They issued a "sell" rating and a $90.00 target price on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, MKS has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $120.00.

MKS Stock Performance

NASDAQ MKSI traded down $2.40 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $89.62. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,515,436 shares, compared to its average volume of 984,638. The company has a market cap of $6.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 3.11 and a quick ratio of 1.96. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $96.77 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $90.98. MKS Inc. has a 12 month low of $54.84 and a 12 month high of $125.33.

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI - Get Free Report) last announced its 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 $1.60 by $0.17. MKS had a net margin of 6.21% and a return on equity of 20.67%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.53 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that MKS Inc. will post 6.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MKS Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 25th will be paid a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.0%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 25th. MKS's dividend payout ratio is 26.27%.

Insider Buying and Selling at MKS

In other news, Director Jacqueline F. Moloney sold 300 shares of the company's 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 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP David Philip Henry sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.00, for a total value of $210,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 20,571 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,159,955. This trade represents a 8.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.57% of the company's stock.

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.