Wedmont Private Capital Takes $280,000 Position in MKS Inc. $MKSI

Key Points

• Wedmont Private Capital acquired 2,650 shares of MKS Inc. valued at approximately $280,000, indicating growing institutional interest in the company.
• MKS Inc. recently reported earnings of $1.77 EPS, surpassing the consensus estimate of $1.61, with revenues reaching $973 million for the quarter.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend with a yield of 0.7%, highlighting its commitment to returning cash to shareholders.

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

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Teacher Retirement System of Texas bought a new stake in shares of MKS during the 1st quarter worth about $789,000. Artemis Investment Management LLP boosted its stake in shares of MKS by 2.2% in the first quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 251,799 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $20,182,000 after buying an additional 5,422 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp boosted its stake in shares of MKS by 15.5% in the first quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 18,884 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $1,513,000 after buying an additional 2,530 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of MKS by 16.2% in the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 110,765 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $8,878,000 after buying an additional 15,482 shares during the period. Finally, Jump Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of MKS in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,257,000. Institutional investors own 99.79% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their target price on MKS from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of MKS in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. They set a "sell" rating and a $90.00 price objective for the company. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price objective on shares of MKS from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a "buy" rating on shares of MKS in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Mizuho upped their price objective on MKS from $105.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, MKS currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $119.80.

MKS Price Performance

MKSI traded down $0.72 on Monday, reaching $127.90. The stock had a trading volume of 1,135,801 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,316,438. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $104.85 and a 200-day moving average of $91.38. The company has a market capitalization of $8.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.94. MKS Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $54.84 and a fifty-two week high of $132.44. The company has a current ratio of 2.99, a quick ratio of 1.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71.

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $973.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $931.05 million. MKS had a net margin of 7.11% and a return on equity of 20.65%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.53 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that MKS Inc. will post 6.94 EPS for the current year.

MKS Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at MKS

In other MKS news, Director Jacqueline F. Moloney sold 300 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.10, for a total value of $27,630.00. Following the sale, the director owned 11,862 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,092,490.20. The trade was a 2.47% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Elizabeth Mora sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.85, for a total transaction of $29,955.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 19,263 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,923,410.55. This represents a 1.53% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 7,600 shares of company stock worth $917,585. Company insiders own 0.51% of the company's stock.

MKS 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.