82,140 Shares in MKS Inc. $MKSI Purchased by Harber Asset Management LLC

Harber Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 82,140 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,584,000. MKS accounts for 2.3% of Harber Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Harber Asset Management LLC owned 0.12% of MKS at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in MKSI. Optimum Investment Advisors lifted its holdings in shares of MKS by 66.7% in the first quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 500 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of MKS by 89.3% in the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 581 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 274 shares during the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group lifted its holdings in shares of MKS by 1,168.3% in the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 799 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $64,000 after acquiring an additional 736 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC lifted its holdings in shares of MKS by 79.2% in the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 828 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $66,000 after acquiring an additional 366 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC lifted its holdings in shares of MKS by 64.8% in the first quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,574 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $206,000 after acquiring an additional 1,012 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.79% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP David Philip Henry sold 2,000 shares of MKS 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 20,571 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,159,955. This trade represents a 8.86% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Jacqueline F. Moloney sold 300 shares of MKS stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the director directly owned 11,862 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,092,490.20. The trade was a 2.47% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

MKS Price Performance

MKS stock opened at $103.34 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.23, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.86. MKS Inc. has a 52-week low of $54.84 and a 52-week high of $125.33. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $101.30 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $89.67. 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 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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $973.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $931.05 million. MKS had a return on equity of 20.65% and a net margin of 7.11%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.53 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that MKS Inc. will post 6.94 earnings per share for the current year.

MKS Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on MKSI shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating on shares of MKS in a report on Friday, August 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on MKS in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $90.00 price objective for the company. Mizuho upped their price objective on MKS from $105.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on MKS from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price objective on MKS from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $119.80.

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.