Tributary Capital Management LLC Boosts Holdings in MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI)

Tributary Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) by 4.2% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 9,115 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after acquiring an additional 364 shares during the period. Tributary Capital Management LLC’s holdings in MKS were worth $731,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its holdings in shares of MKS by 1.0% in the fourth 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 buying an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. lifted its holdings in MKS by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 2,143 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $224,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in MKS by 68.6% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 263 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in MKS by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 11,943 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $1,247,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Treasurer of the State of North Carolina lifted its stake in shares of MKS by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 29,392 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $3,068,000 after buying an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.79% of the company’s stock.

MKS Stock Down 1.9%

Shares of NASDAQ:MKSI opened at $101.97 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.88 billion, a PE ratio of 30.44, a P/E/G ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.88. The company has a current ratio of 3.11, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87. MKS Inc. has a twelve month low of $54.84 and a twelve month high of $141.45. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $93.36 and a 200-day simple moving average of $92.19.

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

MKS Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th were paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 27th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.86%. MKS’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.27%.

Insider Transactions at MKS

In other MKS news, EVP David Philip Henry sold 2,000 shares of the business’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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 20,571 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,159,955. The trade was a 8.86% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MKSI. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price target 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. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of MKS from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of MKS from $105.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of MKS in a report on Thursday, July 10th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $90.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of MKS from $93.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. One investment 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, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $118.80.

MKS Company 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.