4,588 Shares in MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) Acquired by XTX Topco Ltd

Key Points

• XTX Topco Ltd acquired 4,588 shares of MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI), valued at approximately $368,000, in the first quarter of the year.
• The company recently reported a quarterly earnings per share of $1.77, surpassing the consensus estimate by $0.16, alongside quarterly revenue of $973.00 million.
• MKS Inc. announced a quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share, with the ex-dividend date set for August 25th.

XTX Topco Ltd bought a new position in shares of MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 4,588 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock, valued at approximately $368,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of MKS by 9.7% in the 1st quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,388,639 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $271,599,000 after purchasing an additional 300,356 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in MKS by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,231,467 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $232,943,000 after purchasing an additional 6,964 shares in the last quarter. Madison Asset Management LLC increased its stake in MKS by 52.9% during the 1st quarter. Madison Asset Management LLC now owns 1,428,143 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $114,466,000 after purchasing an additional 494,207 shares in the last quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP grew its stake in shares of MKS by 18.5% in the 1st quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 1,038,945 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $83,271,000 after acquiring an additional 161,905 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Royce & Associates LP grew its stake in shares of MKS by 7.3% in the 1st quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 793,244 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $63,579,000 after acquiring an additional 53,800 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.79% of the company's stock.

MKS Trading Down 1.3%

MKSI traded down $1.35 during trading on Thursday, reaching $103.01. The company had a trading volume of 194,196 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,196,892. The company has a quick ratio of 1.88, a current ratio of 2.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $98.48 and a 200-day simple moving average of $90.29. MKS Inc. has a 52 week low of $54.84 and a 52 week high of $125.33. The stock has a market cap of $6.92 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.25, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.86.

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.77 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.16. MKS had a return on equity of 20.65% and a net margin of 7.11%. The business had revenue of $973.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $931.05 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.53 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that MKS Inc. will post 6.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MKS Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 25th will be paid a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 25th. MKS's payout ratio is 22.34%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on MKSI shares. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price objective on shares of MKS from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Needham & Company LLC cut their price target on shares of MKS from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of MKS from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 9th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of MKS from $100.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on MKS from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, MKS currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $119.80.

Insider Activity

In other MKS news, Director Jacqueline F. Moloney sold 300 shares of the firm'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 completion of the sale, the director owned 11,862 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,092,490.20. This trade represents a 2.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP David Philip Henry sold 2,000 shares of MKS stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.00, for a total value of $210,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 20,571 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,159,955. This trade represents a 8.86% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.57% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.