Insider Selling: MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) Director Sells 300 Shares of Stock

MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) Director Elizabeth Mora sold 300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.85, for a total value of $29,955.00. Following the sale, the director owned 19,263 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,923,410.55. This represents a 1.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

MKS Trading Up 2.7%

Shares of NASDAQ:MKSI opened at $104.49 on Friday. MKS Inc. has a 12-month low of $54.84 and a 12-month high of $125.33. The stock has a market cap of $7.02 billion, a PE ratio of 26.52, a P/E/G ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.94. The business has a 50 day moving average of $101.75 and a 200-day moving average of $89.56. The company has a quick ratio of 1.88, a current ratio of 2.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71.

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. MKS had a return on equity of 20.65% and a net margin of 7.11%.The company had revenue of $973.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $931.05 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.53 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that MKS Inc. will post 6.94 earnings per share for the current year.

MKS Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 25th were issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 25th. MKS’s payout ratio is currently 22.34%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MKS

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Teacher Retirement System of Texas bought a new stake in MKS during the first quarter worth $789,000. Artemis Investment Management LLP lifted its stake in MKS by 2.2% during the first quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 251,799 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $20,182,000 after purchasing an additional 5,422 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp lifted its stake in MKS by 15.5% during the first quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 18,884 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $1,513,000 after purchasing an additional 2,530 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in MKS by 16.2% during the first 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 last quarter. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its stake in MKS by 33.7% during the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 11,973 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $960,000 after purchasing an additional 3,021 shares during the last quarter. 99.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on MKSI shares. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on MKS in a report on Thursday, July 10th. They set a “sell” rating and a $90.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on MKS from $100.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price target on MKS from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Mizuho boosted their price target on MKS from $105.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of MKS in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Eight 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.