Yousif Capital Management LLC Reduces Stake in MKS Inc. $MKSI

Yousif Capital Management LLC decreased its stake in shares of MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) by 1.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 22,521 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 420 shares during the period. Yousif Capital Management LLC’s holdings in MKS were worth $2,238,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Optimum Investment Advisors raised its holdings in shares of MKS by 66.7% in the 1st quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 500 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of MKS by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 16,140 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $1,294,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of MKS by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 18,900 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $1,515,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its holdings in shares of MKS by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 7,881 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $631,000 after acquiring an additional 205 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stonegate Investment Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of MKS by 13.7% in the 1st quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC now owns 2,742 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $220,000 after acquiring an additional 331 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.79% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other MKS news, Director Jacqueline F. Moloney sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the director owned 11,562 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,412,182.68. This trade represents a 2.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Elizabeth Mora sold 300 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the director owned 19,263 shares of the company’s stock, 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. Insiders have sold a total of 5,900 shares of company stock worth $744,227 in the last ninety days. 0.57% of the stock is owned by insiders.

MKS Price Performance

MKSI opened at $136.52 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $116.77 and its 200 day simple moving average is $97.35. 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 1 year low of $54.84 and a 1 year high of $142.20. The firm has a market cap of $9.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.65, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.97.

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) last posted 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 the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.16. MKS had a return on equity of 20.65% and a net margin of 7.11%.The business had revenue of $973.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $931.05 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.53 EPS. MKS’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that MKS Inc. will post 6.94 earnings per share for the current year.

MKS Dividend Announcement

The business 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. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 25th. MKS’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.34%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MKSI has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of MKS in a report on Friday, August 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price target on MKS from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of MKS in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded MKS from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 20th. Finally, Mizuho increased their price objective on MKS from $118.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $130.70.

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.