EntryPoint Capital LLC Makes New Investment in MKS Inc. $MKSI

EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 5,304 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, valued at approximately $425,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of MKS by 1.0% during the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 11,943 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $1,247,000 after purchasing an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors boosted its stake in shares of MKS by 66.7% during the 1st quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 500 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of MKS by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 16,140 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $1,294,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of MKS by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 18,900 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $1,515,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its holdings in shares of MKS by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 7,881 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $631,000 after acquiring an additional 205 shares during the period. 99.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MKSI has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC cut their price objective on shares of MKS from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of MKS from $100.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Mizuho increased 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. Cantor Fitzgerald increased 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. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of MKS from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 9th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, MKS has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $119.80.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Jacqueline F. Moloney sold 300 shares of MKS stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.10, for a total transaction of $27,630.00. Following the sale, the director owned 11,862 shares in the company, valued at $1,092,490.20. This trade represents a 2.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP David Philip Henry sold 2,000 shares of MKS stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.00, for a total transaction of $210,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 20,571 shares in the company, valued at $2,159,955. This represents a 8.86% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

MKS Trading Down 1.3%

NASDAQ MKSI opened at $99.37 on Thursday. MKS Inc. has a one year low of $54.84 and a one year high of $125.33. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $99.50 and its 200 day moving average price is $89.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71, a quick ratio of 1.88 and a current ratio of 2.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.22, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.86.

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.77 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.16. MKS had a net margin of 7.11% and a return on equity of 20.65%. The firm had revenue of $973.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $931.05 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.53 earnings per share. MKS’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that MKS Inc. will post 6.94 EPS for the current year.

MKS Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 5th. Investors of record on Monday, August 25th will be issued a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 25th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. MKS’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.34%.

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.