KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Purchases 800 Shares of MKS Inc. $MKSI

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS lifted its position in MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) by 6.1% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,000 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after buying an additional 800 shares during the period. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS’s holdings in MKS were worth $1,391,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Teacher Retirement System of Texas bought a new stake in shares of MKS in the 1st quarter valued at $789,000. Artemis Investment Management LLP increased its position in shares of MKS by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 251,799 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $20,182,000 after buying an additional 5,422 shares in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp increased its position in shares of MKS by 15.5% in the 1st quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 18,884 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $1,513,000 after buying an additional 2,530 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in MKS by 16.2% in the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 110,765 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $8,878,000 after purchasing an additional 15,482 shares during the period. Finally, Jump Financial LLC acquired a new position in MKS in the 1st quarter worth $1,257,000. Institutional investors own 99.79% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MKSI has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $151.00 target price on shares of MKS in a research note on Monday. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their target price 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. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of MKS in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC upped their target price on shares of MKS from $130.00 to $136.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, MKS currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $127.80.

MKS Trading Up 9.7%

MKS stock opened at $133.03 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $113.50 and a 200-day moving average of $95.92. MKS Inc. has a one year low of $54.84 and a one year high of $142.20. 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 company has a market cap of $8.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.97.

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. MKS had a net margin of 7.11% and a return on equity of 20.65%. The company had revenue of $973.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $931.05 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.53 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that MKS Inc. will post 6.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MKS Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 5th. Investors of record on Monday, August 25th were paid a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 25th. MKS’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.34%.

Insider Activity at MKS

In related news, 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 value of $29,955.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Jacqueline F. Moloney sold 300 shares of the firm’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 completion of the sale, the director owned 11,562 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,412,182.68. This trade represents a 2.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 5,900 shares of company stock worth $744,227. Insiders own 0.51% of the company’s stock.

MKS 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.