Mutual of America Capital Management LLC Reduces Stock Position in MKS Inc. $MKSI

Key Points

• Mutual of America Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in MKS Inc. by 4.5% during the second quarter, now holding approximately 51,108 shares worth about $5.08 million.
• Other institutional investors have recently adjusted their positions in MKS, with some making significant purchases, indicating a strong interest in the stock among hedge funds and institutional investors.
• A number of analysts have upgraded their ratings on MKS, with Cantor Fitzgerald raising the target price to $120 and Wall Street Zen moving from a "buy" to a "strong-buy" rating, reflecting positive sentiment in the market.

Mutual of America Capital Management LLC reduced its holdings in shares of MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI - Free Report) by 4.5% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 51,108 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after selling 2,414 shares during the quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC owned about 0.08% of MKS worth $5,078,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bayforest Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of MKS during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Steph & Co. bought a new stake in MKS during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $42,000. 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 acquiring an additional 200 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group increased its holdings in MKS by 1,168.3% during the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 799 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $64,000 after acquiring an additional 736 shares during the period. Finally, Signaturefd LLC increased its holdings in MKS by 79.2% during the 1st 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. 99.79% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, 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 directly 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP David Philip Henry sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 18th. The shares were 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 $2,024,230. This trade represents a 24.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 5,900 shares of company stock valued at $744,227. 0.51% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MKSI. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their target price on shares of MKS from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of MKS in a report on Friday, August 8th. Wall Street Zen raised shares of MKS from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, September 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of MKS from $92.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of MKS in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $130.70.

MKS Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MKSI opened at $140.73 on Wednesday. The company's fifty day moving average price is $118.39 and its 200-day moving average price is $98.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.72, a PEG ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.97. MKS Inc. has a one year low of $54.84 and a one year high of $142.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71, a current ratio of 2.99 and a quick ratio of 1.88.

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.77 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 net margin of 7.11% and a return on equity of 20.65%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.53 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that MKS Inc. will post 6.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MKS Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 5th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 25th. MKS's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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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