Sculptor Capital LP Purchases Shares of 63,300 MKS Inc. $MKSI

Key Points

• Sculptor Capital LP acquired a new stake of 63,300 shares in MKS Inc., valued at approximately $5.07 million, during the first quarter.
• MKS Inc. recently reported quarterly earnings that exceeded expectations, with an EPS of $1.77 compared to the consensus estimate of $1.61, and revenue of $973 million, surpassing analyst expectations of $931.05 million.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share, translating to an annualized dividend yield of 0.9%, with a payout ratio of 22.34%.

Sculptor Capital LP acquired a new position in MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 63,300 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock, valued at approximately $5,073,000. Sculptor Capital LP owned about 0.09% of MKS as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MKSI. Optimum Investment Advisors increased its position in shares of MKS by 66.7% during the first quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 500 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 274 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group increased its position in shares of MKS by 1,168.3% during the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 799 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $64,000 after acquiring an additional 736 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC increased its position in shares of MKS by 79.2% during the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 828 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $66,000 after acquiring an additional 366 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC increased its position in shares of MKS by 64.8% during the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,574 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $206,000 after acquiring an additional 1,012 shares during the last quarter. 99.79% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at MKS

In related news, Director Elizabeth Mora sold 300 shares of MKS 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 completion of 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP David Philip Henry sold 2,000 shares of MKS stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.00, for a total value of $210,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 20,571 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,159,955. This represents a 8.86% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 2,600 shares of company stock valued at $267,585. Company insiders own 0.51% of the company's stock.

MKS Stock Performance

Shares of MKS stock traded down $1.71 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $100.24. The company had a trading volume of 933,708 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,175,956. MKS Inc. has a one year low of $54.84 and a one year high of $125.33. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $101.61 and a 200 day simple moving average of $89.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71, a current ratio of 2.99 and a quick ratio of 1.88. The firm has a market cap of $6.73 billion, a PE ratio of 25.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.94.

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The company 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%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.53 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that MKS Inc. will post 6.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MKS Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on MKSI shares. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price target on MKS from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of MKS in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on MKS from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on MKS in a report on Thursday, July 10th. They set a "sell" rating and a $90.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on MKS from $100.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, MKS presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average 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.