MKS Inc. $MKSI Shares Sold by Pictet Asset Management Holding SA

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA trimmed its holdings in shares of MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) by 27.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,465 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 4,403 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA’s holdings in MKS were worth $3,042,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Keating Financial Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in MKS during the second quarter valued at $25,000. Allied Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in MKS in the second quarter valued at $33,000. Clearstead Trust LLC purchased a new stake in MKS in the second quarter valued at $36,000. Ancora Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in MKS in the second quarter valued at $36,000. Finally, Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in MKS by 47.5% during the 2nd quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.79% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MKSI has been the topic of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on MKS from $345.00 to $330.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 26th. Wall Street Zen raised MKS from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Weiss Ratings cut MKS from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Monday, September 28th. Deutsche Bank set a $360.00 target price on MKS in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on MKS from $285.00 to $195.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $366.77.

MKS Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MKSI traded down $5.85 during trading on Friday, hitting $215.65. 1,314,656 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,621,678. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $236.72 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $276.91. MKS Inc. has a 52-week low of $134.74 and a 52-week high of $447.62. The company has a market cap of $14.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.58, a P/E/G ratio of 0.39 and a beta of 2.14.

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $4.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.63 by $0.55. The firm had revenue of $1.41 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.36 billion. MKS had a net margin of 12.64% and a return on equity of 28.77%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 43.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.93 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that MKS Inc. will post 14.46 EPS for the current year.

MKS Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 7th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 25th will be given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 25th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. MKS’s dividend payout ratio is 11.86%.

MKS declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Wednesday, November 4th that allows the company to repurchase $500 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the scientific and technical instruments company to purchase up to 3.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Share repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Elizabeth Mora sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.96, for a total transaction of $75,288.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 18,845 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,729,341.20. This represents a 1.57% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

MKS Profile

MKS Inc. develops technologies used to manufacture semiconductor devices and other advanced products. Its offerings include instruments, components, subsystems and systems that measure and control pressure, gas flow, gas composition, power and other process conditions. The company also provides laser and photonics technologies, motion-control solutions, and specialty chemicals and plating equipment. These products support semiconductor fabrication and packaging, electronics manufacturing, life sciences and a range of industrial applications.