National Bank of Canada FI Sells 97,781 Shares of MKS Inc. $MKSI

Key Points

• National Bank of Canada FI reduced its stake in MKS Inc. by 94.8% in Q1, owning only 5,321 shares valued at $427,000 after selling 97,781 shares during the period.
• Several institutional investors increased their holdings in MKS in Q4, with Envestnet Asset Management raising its stake by 3.6%, while Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new position valued at approximately $2,578,000.
• MKS recently reported earnings of $1.77 per share, exceeding expectations, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share, with a payout ratio of 22.34% and a dividend yield of 0.9%.

National Bank of Canada FI lessened its holdings in MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI - Free Report) by 94.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,321 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after selling 97,781 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI's holdings in MKS were worth $427,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Insider Activity

In other MKS news, Director Jacqueline F. Moloney sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.10, for a total transaction of $27,630.00. Following the transaction, 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP David Philip Henry sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.00, for a total transaction of $210,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 20,571 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,159,955. The trade was a 8.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.57% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MKSI has been the topic of several research reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of MKS from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price target on shares of MKS from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of MKS in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. They set a "sell" rating and a $90.00 price objective on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of MKS from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. Finally, 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. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $119.80.

MKS Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ MKSI traded down $0.4580 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $98.9120. The company had a trading volume of 59,399 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,187,598. The company has a current ratio of 2.99, a quick ratio of 1.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71. MKS Inc. has a 52 week low of $54.84 and a 52 week high of $125.33. The business's 50-day moving average is $99.50 and its 200-day moving average is $89.98. The stock has a market cap of $6.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.86.

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $973.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $931.05 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.53 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that MKS Inc. will post 6.94 earnings per share for the current year.

MKS Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 25th. MKS's dividend payout ratio is presently 22.34%.

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.