Voya Investment Management LLC Trims Stock Position in MKS Inc. $MKSI

Key Points

• Voya Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in MKS Inc. by 47.2% in Q1, holding 9,553 shares valued at approximately $766,000.
• MKS reported a quarterly earnings of $1.77 EPS, surpassing analyst estimates of $1.61, alongside a revenue of $973 million, which reflects a year-over-year increase of 9.7%.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share, representing an annual yield of 0.7%, with a payout ratio of 22.34%.

Voya Investment Management LLC cut its position in shares of MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI - Free Report) by 47.2% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 9,553 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after selling 8,545 shares during the quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC's holdings in MKS were worth $766,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MKSI. Two Sigma Investments LP purchased a new stake in shares of MKS during the fourth quarter worth about $4,405,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lifted its holdings in shares of MKS by 62.5% during the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 39,464 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $4,120,000 after acquiring an additional 15,184 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of MKS by 8,326.0% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 95,298 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $7,638,000 after acquiring an additional 94,167 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of MKS by 89.3% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 581 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 274 shares during the period. Finally, Rhumbline Advisers grew its holdings in shares of MKS by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 187,807 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $15,053,000 after purchasing an additional 1,478 shares during the period. 99.79% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MKS Price Performance

NASDAQ MKSI opened at $123.94 on Thursday. MKS Inc. has a 52 week low of $54.84 and a 52 week high of $132.44. The company has a current ratio of 2.99, a quick ratio of 1.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71. The stock has a market cap of $8.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.94. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $105.78 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $91.86.

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

MKS Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 25th were given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 25th. MKS's payout ratio is 22.34%.

Insider Activity

In other news, 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 transaction of $650,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 15,571 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,024,230. This trade represents a 24.31% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Elizabeth Mora sold 300 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.85, for a total transaction of $29,955.00. Following the transaction, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 7,600 shares of company stock worth $917,585. Corporate insiders own 0.57% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MKSI has been the topic of several analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC dropped their target price on MKS from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "buy" rating on shares of MKS in a report on Friday, August 8th. Zacks Research downgraded MKS from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted 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. Finally, Mizuho boosted their price objective on MKS from $105.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, MKS has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $119.80.

About MKS

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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