Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc. Makes New $358,000 Investment in MKS Inc. $MKSI

Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc. purchased a new position in MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm purchased 3,604 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, valued at approximately $358,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MKSI. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position 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 buying an additional 958,607 shares during the period. Channing Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MKS during the 1st quarter worth approximately $44,320,000. Madison Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of MKS by 52.9% during 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 purchasing an additional 494,207 shares in the last quarter. Kodai Capital Management LP grew its holdings in shares of MKS by 138.3% during 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 purchasing an additional 410,865 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of MKS by 132.2% during the 1st quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 545,109 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $43,690,000 after purchasing an additional 310,314 shares in the last quarter. 99.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

MKS Price Performance

Shares of MKSI stock opened at $136.54 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $108.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $93.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71, a current ratio of 2.99 and a quick ratio of 1.88. The firm has a market cap of $9.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 1.97. MKS Inc. has a one year low of $54.84 and a one year high of $137.14.

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) last announced 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. The business had revenue of $973.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $931.05 million. MKS had a return on equity of 20.65% and a net margin of 7.11%.MKS’s quarterly revenue was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.53 EPS. On average, analysts expect 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 25th were paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 25th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. MKS’s payout ratio is currently 22.34%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently weighed in on MKSI shares. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on MKS in a report on Thursday, July 10th. They set a “sell” rating and a $90.00 price objective on the stock. Zacks Research lowered MKS from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on MKS from $105.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Needham & Company LLC decreased their price objective on MKS from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised MKS from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 20th. 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. According to MarketBeat, MKS currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $119.80.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other MKS news, Director Jacqueline F. Moloney sold 300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $122.14, for a total value of $36,642.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 11,562 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,412,182.68. The trade was a 2.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Elizabeth Mora sold 300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.85, for a total value of $29,955.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 19,263 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,923,410.55. This represents a 1.53% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 5,900 shares of company stock valued at $744,227. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.