Natixis Advisors LLC Lowers Position in MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI)

Natixis Advisors LLC cut its stake in shares of MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) by 6.8% in the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 264,124 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 19,119 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in MKS were worth $21,170,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of MKS by 24.9% during the 4th quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 6,035 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $630,000 after acquiring an additional 1,205 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC increased its stake in MKS by 8.6% in the fourth quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 25,145 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $2,625,000 after purchasing an additional 1,992 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA grew its stake in MKS by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 9,748 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $1,018,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares in the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership bought a new stake in MKS during the 4th quarter valued at $684,000. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group purchased a new position in MKS during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,480,000. 99.79% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at MKS

In other news, EVP David Philip Henry sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.00, for a total value of $210,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 20,571 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,159,955. This represents a 8.86% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on MKSI. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of MKS from $105.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on MKS in a report on Thursday, July 10th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $90.00 price target for the company. Needham & Company LLC decreased their price objective on shares of MKS from $145.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of MKS from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of MKS from $100.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, MKS currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $120.00.

MKS Stock Performance

NASDAQ MKSI opened at $92.75 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $6.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.86. MKS Inc. has a 1-year low of $54.84 and a 1-year high of $125.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 3.11 and a quick ratio of 1.96. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $96.48 and a two-hundred day moving average of $91.49.

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.29. MKS had a net margin of 6.21% and a return on equity of 20.67%. The company had revenue of $936.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $913.59 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.18 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts anticipate that MKS Inc. will post 6.94 EPS for the current year.

MKS Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th were given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 27th. MKS’s payout ratio is currently 26.27%.

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.