MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) Director Sells $36,642.00 in Stock

Key Points

• Jacqueline Moloney, a director of MKS Inc., sold 300 shares of stock for a total of $36,642, decreasing her position by 2.53% to 11,562 shares.
• MKS reported earnings of $1.77 per share, beating analyst estimates and showing a 9.7% year-over-year revenue increase.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share, representing a 0.6% yield with a payout ratio of 22.34%.

MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI - Get Free Report) Director Jacqueline Moloney sold 300 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $122.14, for a total transaction of $36,642.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 11,562 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,412,182.68. This represents a 2.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

MKS Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MKSI traded up $5.07 during trading on Thursday, reaching $136.35. 769,311 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,207,507. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71, a current ratio of 2.99 and a quick ratio of 1.88. MKS Inc. has a 12 month low of $54.84 and a 12 month high of $137.14. The company has a 50 day moving average of $107.93 and a 200-day moving average of $93.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.59, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 1.97.

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $973.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $931.05 million. MKS had a net margin of 7.11% and a return on equity of 20.65%. MKS's revenue was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.53 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that MKS Inc. will post 6.94 EPS for the current year.

MKS Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 25th were paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 25th. MKS's payout ratio is presently 22.34%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MKSI has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Mizuho upped their price target on shares of MKS from $105.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of MKS from $100.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Needham & Company LLC reduced their price target 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. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of MKS from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of MKS in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $119.80.

Institutional Trading of MKS

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MKSI. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of MKS by 41.8% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,250,085 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $260,494,000 after acquiring an additional 958,607 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of MKS during the second quarter valued at approximately $85,391,000. Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of MKS by 843.4% during the second quarter. Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. now owns 690,287 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $68,587,000 after acquiring an additional 617,113 shares during the period. Channing Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MKS during the first quarter valued at approximately $44,320,000. Finally, Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC raised its holdings in shares of MKS by 146.4% during the second quarter. Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC now owns 912,380 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $90,654,000 after acquiring an additional 542,094 shares during the period. 99.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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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