2,650 Shares in MKS Inc. $MKSI Bought by Wedmont Private Capital

Wedmont Private Capital acquired a new stake in MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI - Free Report) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 2,650 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock, valued at approximately $280,000.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wellington Management Group LLP raised 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 buying an additional 958,607 shares during the last quarter. Channing Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in MKS during the first quarter worth about $44,320,000. Madison Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in MKS by 52.9% during the first quarter. Madison Asset Management LLC now owns 1,428,143 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $114,466,000 after purchasing an additional 494,207 shares in the last quarter. Kodai Capital Management LP raised its holdings in MKS by 138.3% during the first quarter. Kodai Capital Management LP now owns 708,021 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $56,748,000 after purchasing an additional 410,865 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in MKS by 132.2% during the first quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 545,109 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $43,690,000 after purchasing an additional 310,314 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.79% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on MKSI shares. Needham & Company LLC dropped their target price on shares of MKS from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of MKS in a report on Friday, August 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of MKS in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. They issued a "sell" rating and a $90.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of MKS from $100.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of MKS from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $119.80.

MKS Stock Down 1.0%

MKS stock opened at $128.62 on Monday. 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 firm has a market cap of $8.64 billion, a PE ratio of 32.64, a P/E/G ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.94. MKS Inc. has a twelve month low of $54.84 and a twelve month high of $132.44. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $104.38 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $91.08.

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.77 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $973.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.53 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that MKS Inc. will post 6.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MKS Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 25th were issued a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 25th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. MKS's dividend payout ratio is 22.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling at MKS

In other news, Director Elizabeth Mora sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.85, for a total value of $29,955.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 19,263 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,923,410.55. This represents a 1.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP David Philip Henry sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.00, for a total transaction of $650,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 15,571 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,024,230. This represents a 24.31% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 7,600 shares of company stock valued at $917,585 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.51% of the company's stock.

About MKS

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.

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