Madison Asset Management LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in MKS Inc. $MKSI

Madison Asset Management LLC cut its holdings in shares of MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) by 33.3% in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 976,091 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 487,592 shares during the period. MKS comprises approximately 1.3% of Madison Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 19th biggest holding. Madison Asset Management LLC owned approximately 1.45% of MKS worth $120,811,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MKSI. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. acquired a new stake in MKS during the third quarter worth about $30,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in MKS by 74.5% in the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 260 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the period. Winnow Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in MKS in the 3rd quarter valued at $38,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in MKS in the 2nd quarter worth $39,000. Finally, Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp acquired a new position in MKS during the second quarter worth $46,000. 99.79% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MKS Stock Performance

Shares of MKSI stock opened at $252.52 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.81 and a current ratio of 2.86. The firm has a market cap of $16.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 61.29, a P/E/G ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.94. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $190.01 and its 200-day moving average price is $147.79. MKS Inc. has a one year low of $54.84 and a one year high of $259.70.

MKS Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 6th. Investors of record on Monday, February 23rd will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 23rd. This is a positive change from MKS’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. MKS’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.36%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other MKS news, Director Elizabeth Mora sold 300 shares of MKS stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.81, for a total value of $47,643.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 18,963 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,011,514.03. The trade was a 1.56% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.51% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MKSI. Mizuho set a $260.00 price target on shares of MKS in a research note on Wednesday, January 28th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their target price on MKS from $200.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Zacks Research upgraded MKS from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of MKS from $200.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on MKS from $187.00 to $258.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $231.50.

MKS Company Profile

MKS Instruments, Inc (NASDAQ: MKSI) designs, manufactures and markets technology solutions that enable advanced processes in a variety of high‐technology and industrial markets. The company’s core offerings include vacuum and gas delivery systems, pressure and flow measurement instruments, optical metrology tools, photonics subsystems and critical components for manufacturing processes. These products support the precise control and monitoring needs of semiconductor, industrial manufacturing, life and health sciences, and research applications.

The company’s product portfolio features mass flow controllers, pressure transducers, vacuum gauges, gas purity monitors, laser-based metrology systems and photonic devices such as lasers and detectors.