Needham Investment Management LLC Sells 250 Shares of MKS Inc. $MKSI

Needham Investment Management LLC decreased its position in MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) by 0.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 128,750 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 250 shares during the quarter. Needham Investment Management LLC’s holdings in MKS were worth $10,319,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in MKS by 41.8% in the 1st quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,250,085 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $260,494,000 after acquiring an additional 958,607 shares during the period. Channing Capital Management LLC bought a new position in MKS in the 1st quarter worth $44,320,000. Madison Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in MKS by 52.9% in the 1st quarter. Madison Asset Management LLC now owns 1,428,143 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $114,466,000 after acquiring an additional 494,207 shares during the period. Shapiro Capital Management LLC bought a new position in MKS in the 4th quarter worth $48,228,000. Finally, Kodai Capital Management LP raised its holdings in MKS by 138.3% in the 1st quarter. Kodai Capital Management LP now owns 708,021 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $56,748,000 after acquiring an additional 410,865 shares during the period. 99.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on MKSI shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of MKS from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of MKS in a report on Thursday, July 10th. They set a “sell” rating and a $90.00 price objective on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price objective on shares of MKS from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Mizuho boosted their price objective on shares of MKS from $105.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of MKS from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $119.80.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other MKS news, EVP David Philip Henry sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 in the company, valued at $2,159,955. The trade was a 8.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Jacqueline F. Moloney sold 300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.10, for a total transaction of $27,630.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 11,862 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,092,490.20. This trade represents a 2.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 2,600 shares of company stock worth $267,585 in the last quarter. 0.57% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

MKS Price Performance

NASDAQ:MKSI opened at $104.49 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $101.75 and a 200-day moving average of $89.56. The company has a market capitalization of $7.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.52, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.94. MKS Inc. has a 52 week low of $54.84 and a 52 week high of $125.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71, a quick ratio of 1.88 and a current ratio of 2.99.

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

MKS Dividend Announcement

The firm 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 of this dividend was Monday, August 25th. MKS’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.34%.

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.