MKS Inc. $MKSI Stock Position Lessened by Janney Montgomery Scott LLC

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC cut its position in shares of MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) by 3.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 11,567 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 406 shares during the quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC’s holdings in MKS were worth $1,149,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Optimum Investment Advisors grew its holdings 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 buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Steph & Co. bought a new stake in MKS during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its holdings in MKS by 1,168.3% in the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 799 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $64,000 after acquiring an additional 736 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in MKS by 79.2% in the 1st quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 828 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $66,000 after acquiring an additional 366 shares in the last quarter. Finally, eCIO Inc. acquired a new stake in MKS during the first quarter valued at approximately $77,000. 99.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on MKSI shares. Wall Street Zen raised MKS from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, September 20th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on MKS from $130.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on MKS from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Mizuho upped their target price on MKS from $105.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “buy” rating on shares of MKS in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $127.80.

Insider Buying and Selling at MKS

In other MKS news, Director Jacqueline F. Moloney sold 300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $122.14, for a total value of $36,642.00. Following the sale, the director owned 11,562 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,412,182.68. This trade represents a 2.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Elizabeth Mora sold 300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 represents a 1.53% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 5,900 shares of company stock valued at $744,227. 0.51% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

MKS Trading Up 9.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:MKSI opened at $133.03 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $8.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.76, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.97. MKS Inc. has a 1 year low of $54.84 and a 1 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 business’s 50 day simple moving average is $113.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is $95.92.

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

MKS Dividend Announcement

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

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.