Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC Makes New Investment in MKS Inc. $MKSI

Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC bought a new position in MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 55,119 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,477,000. MKS comprises about 0.9% of Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest position. Wellington Shields Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.08% of MKS as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of MKS by 41.8% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 3,250,085 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $260,494,000 after acquiring an additional 958,607 shares in the last quarter. Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of MKS by 843.4% in the second quarter. Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. now owns 690,287 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $68,587,000 after acquiring an additional 617,113 shares in the last quarter. Channing Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of MKS in the first quarter valued at approximately $44,320,000. Madison Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of MKS by 52.9% in the first quarter. Madison Asset Management LLC now owns 1,428,143 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $114,466,000 after acquiring an additional 494,207 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kodai Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of MKS by 138.3% in the first quarter. Kodai Capital Management LP now owns 708,021 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $56,748,000 after acquiring an additional 410,865 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.79% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently weighed in on MKSI shares. Zacks Research cut shares of MKS from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $175.00 target price on shares of MKS and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of MKS from $92.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of MKS from $118.00 to $147.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of MKS from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, September 20th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $137.20.

Insider Buying and Selling at MKS

In other MKS news, Director Jacqueline F. Moloney sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $122.14, for a total transaction of $36,642.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 11,562 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,412,182.68. This represents a 2.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Elizabeth Mora sold 300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.85, for a total value of $29,955.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 19,263 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,923,410.55. This trade represents a 1.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 5,600 shares of company stock valued at $716,597 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

MKS Trading Up 3.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:MKSI opened at $143.71 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $124.64 and a two-hundred day moving average of $103.15. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.97. MKS Inc. has a 12-month low of $54.84 and a 12-month high of $147.31. The company has a quick ratio of 1.88, a current ratio of 2.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71.

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

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.