Raymond James Financial Inc. Trims Holdings in MKS Inc. $MKSI

Key Points

• Raymond James Financial Inc. sold 8,651 shares of MKS Inc. in the first quarter, reducing its stake by 3.2% to a total of 262,567 shares, valued at approximately $21 million.
• Several institutional investors, including Optimum Investment Advisors and Parallel Advisors LLC, significantly increased their stakes in MKS during the same period, highlighting a growing interest in the stock.
• MKS Inc. reported an EPS of $1.77 for the recent quarter, surpassing estimates, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share set to be paid on September 5th.

Raymond James Financial Inc. lessened its stake in shares of MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI - Free Report) by 3.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 262,567 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after selling 8,651 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. owned about 0.39% of MKS worth $21,045,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Teacher Retirement System of Texas purchased a new stake in MKS during the first quarter worth about $789,000. Artemis Investment Management LLP lifted its holdings in MKS by 2.2% during the first 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 holdings in MKS by 15.5% during the first 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. grew its holdings in MKS by 16.2% during 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 buying an additional 15,482 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its holdings in MKS by 33.7% during 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 buying an additional 3,021 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.79% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at MKS

In other MKS news, EVP David Philip Henry sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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. This represents a 8.86% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Jacqueline F. Moloney sold 300 shares of MKS stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director owned 11,862 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,092,490.20. The trade was a 2.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.57% of the company's stock.

MKS Price Performance

MKSI traded down $4.18 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $103.34. The stock had a trading volume of 993,196 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,048,648. The company has a market cap of $6.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.86. The business has a fifty day moving average of $101.30 and a 200 day moving average of $89.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71, a quick ratio of 1.88 and a current ratio of 2.99. MKS Inc. has a 1 year low of $54.84 and a 1 year high of $125.33.

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. The business had revenue of $973.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $931.05 million. MKS had a return on equity of 20.65% and a net margin of 7.11%.MKS's revenue for the quarter was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.53 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that MKS Inc. will post 6.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MKS Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on MKSI. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on MKS from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on MKS from $100.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Zacks Research lowered MKS from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised MKS from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target 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.