MKS Inc. $MKSI Shares Acquired by Hantz Financial Services Inc.

Hantz Financial Services Inc. boosted its stake in shares of MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) by 8,321.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,053 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,993 shares during the quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in MKS were worth $502,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Teacher Retirement System of Texas acquired a new position in MKS during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $789,000. DAVENPORT & Co LLC acquired a new position in MKS during the 2nd quarter worth $214,000. M&T Bank Corp boosted its position in MKS by 15.5% during the 1st quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 18,884 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $1,513,000 after acquiring an additional 2,530 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in MKS by 16.2% during the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 110,765 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $8,878,000 after acquiring an additional 15,482 shares during the period. Finally, Jump Financial LLC acquired a new position in MKS during the 1st quarter worth $1,257,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.79% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

MKS Stock Up 3.2%

MKSI opened at $143.71 on Friday. MKS Inc. has a one year low of $54.84 and a one year high of $147.31. 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 stock’s fifty day moving average is $124.64 and its 200-day moving average is $102.87. The company has a market capitalization of $9.65 billion, a PE ratio of 36.47, a P/E/G ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 1.97.

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) last posted 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. MKS had a return on equity of 20.65% and a net margin of 7.11%.The company had revenue of $973.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $931.05 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.53 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that MKS Inc. will post 6.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MKS Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 25th were given a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 25th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. MKS’s payout ratio is 22.34%.

Insider Transactions at MKS

In other news, EVP David Philip Henry sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.00, for a total transaction of $650,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 15,571 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,024,230. The trade was a 24.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 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 sale, the director directly owned 19,263 shares in the company, valued at $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 have sold 5,600 shares of company stock valued at $716,597 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

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.