Hsbc Holdings PLC Lowers Stake in MKS Inc. $MKSI

Hsbc Holdings PLC reduced its stake in shares of MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) by 35.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,052 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 1,672 shares during the quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC’s holdings in MKS were worth $245,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Optimum Investment Advisors boosted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 274 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group boosted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 736 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 366 shares during the period. Finally, PharVision Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in MKS in the fourth quarter worth about $261,000. 99.79% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Jacqueline F. Moloney sold 300 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, the director owned 11,862 shares in the company, valued at $1,092,490.20. This represents a 2.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Elizabeth Mora sold 300 shares of the company’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 in the company, 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 2,600 shares of company stock worth $267,585. 0.57% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

MKS Stock Performance

Shares of MKS stock opened at $101.72 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.83 billion, a PE ratio of 25.82, a P/E/G ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.94. 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 company has a 50-day simple moving average of $101.67 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $89.57. MKS Inc. has a one year low of $54.84 and a one year high of $125.33.

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

MKS Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. MKS’s payout ratio is currently 22.34%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MKSI has been the subject of a number of research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of MKS in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Zacks Research lowered shares of MKS from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 26th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective 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. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price objective on shares of MKS from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised shares of MKS from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 30th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, MKS currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.