MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) Stock Rated "Moderate Buy" by Wall Street Analysts

Key Points

• Analyst sentiment is moderately bullish: 11 of 15 analysts rate MKS a buy, one a strong buy, two a hold, and one a sell; the average 12-month price target is $366.77.
• Quarterly results topped expectations: MKS reported EPS of $4.18 versus estimates of $3.63, while revenue rose 43% year over year to $1.41 billion.
• MKS shares fell 2.6% to $215.65 in Friday trading. The company also announced a $500 million share-repurchase authorization and a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share.

Shares of MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI - Get Free Report) have been given a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" by the fifteen ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have assigned a hold recommendation, eleven have given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $366.77.

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of MKS from $285.00 to $195.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 6th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of MKS from $430.00 to $350.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 6th. Mizuho dropped their target price on shares of MKS from $360.00 to $330.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on MKS from $365.00 to $380.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised MKS from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th.

MKS Stock Down 2.6%

Shares of MKS stock traded down $5.85 on Friday, reaching $215.65. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,314,656 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,621,678. The company has a market capitalization 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. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $236.72 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $276.91. MKS has a 52 week low of $134.74 and a 52 week high of $447.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI - Get Free Report) 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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.63 by $0.55. MKS had a return on equity of 28.77% and a net margin of 12.64%. The firm had revenue of $1.41 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.36 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.93 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 43.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that MKS will post 14.46 earnings per share for the current year.

MKS Announces Dividend

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

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

Insider Transactions at MKS

In other MKS news, Director Elizabeth Mora sold 300 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.96, for a total transaction of $75,288.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 18,845 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,729,341.20. This represents a 1.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 0.57% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Entropy Technologies LP bought a new stake in MKS during the third quarter valued at about $2,019,000. Jump Financial LLC raised its stake in shares of MKS by 1,792.4% in the third quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 213,144 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $56,560,000 after buying an additional 201,881 shares during the period. First National Bank of Omaha lifted its position in shares of MKS by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. First National Bank of Omaha now owns 10,764 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $2,856,000 after buying an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. FORA Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of MKS during the 3rd quarter valued at about $5,197,000. Finally, Pathstone Holdings LLC grew its stake in shares of MKS by 11.7% during the 3rd quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 31,349 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $8,319,000 after acquiring an additional 3,278 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.79% of the company's stock.

MKS Company 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.

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