MKS Inc. $MKSI Shares Sold by Sei Investments Co.

Key Points

• Sei Investments Co. reduced its holdings in MKS Inc. by 2.0%, owning 148,065 shares worth approximately $11.87 million after selling 2,960 shares in the first quarter.
• Several institutional investors have recently adjusted their positions in MKS, with a significant increase from Gamco Investors at 37.2% in the fourth quarter.
• MKS reported a quarterly earnings beat with an EPS of $1.77, exceeding expectations, and also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share scheduled for payment on September 5th.

Sei Investments Co. reduced its position in shares of MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI - Free Report) by 2.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 148,065 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after selling 2,960 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. owned approximately 0.22% of MKS worth $11,867,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Madison Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in MKS by 52.9% in the first quarter. Madison Asset Management LLC now owns 1,428,143 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $114,466,000 after purchasing an additional 494,207 shares during the last quarter. Shapiro Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in MKS in the fourth quarter worth $48,228,000. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in MKS by 9.7% in the first quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,388,639 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $271,599,000 after purchasing an additional 300,356 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in MKS in the fourth quarter worth $28,312,000. Finally, D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. lifted its stake in MKS by 158.5% in the fourth quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 367,437 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $38,357,000 after purchasing an additional 225,285 shares during the last quarter. 99.79% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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 completion of the transaction, the director owned 11,862 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,092,490.20. This trade represents a 2.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP David Philip Henry sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.00, for a total transaction of $210,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 20,571 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,159,955. This trade represents a 8.86% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.57% of the company's stock.

MKS Stock Performance

Shares of MKSI traded up $0.88 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $101.10. The stock had a trading volume of 927,309 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,198,244. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71, a quick ratio of 1.88 and a current ratio of 2.99. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $99.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $89.93. MKS Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $54.84 and a fifty-two week high of $125.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.66, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.86.

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 for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $973.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $931.05 million. MKS had a net margin of 7.11% and a return on equity of 20.65%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.53 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that MKS Inc. will post 6.94 EPS for the current year.

MKS Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on MKSI shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of MKS from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price objective on shares of MKS from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of MKS from $100.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price objective on shares of MKS from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of MKS from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock 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.