Bessemer Group Inc. Sells 12,663 Shares of MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI)

Bessemer Group Inc. lowered its stake in MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI - Free Report) by 8.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 134,073 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after selling 12,663 shares during the quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. owned approximately 0.20% of MKS worth $10,744,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Stonegate Investment Group LLC boosted its stake in MKS by 13.7% in the 1st quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC now owns 2,742 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $220,000 after purchasing an additional 331 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in MKS by 535.5% in the 1st quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 2,631 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $211,000 after purchasing an additional 2,217 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue boosted its stake in MKS by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 7,881 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $631,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its stake in MKS by 33.7% in the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 11,973 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $960,000 after purchasing an additional 3,021 shares during the period. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its stake in MKS by 11.1% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 4,408 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $353,000 after purchasing an additional 439 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 99.79% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have commented on MKSI. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their target price on MKS from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised MKS from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $110.00 price target on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price target on MKS from $145.00 to $140.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on MKS from $93.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $130.82.

MKS Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MKSI opened at $100.27 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 3.11, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87. The stock's 50-day moving average is $84.09 and its 200 day moving average is $92.63. The stock has a market cap of $6.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.84. MKS Inc. has a 1-year low of $54.84 and a 1-year high of $147.40.

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.71 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.29. The business had revenue of $936.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $913.59 million. MKS had a return on equity of 20.67% and a net margin of 6.21%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.18 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that MKS Inc. will post 6.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MKS Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th were given a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 27th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.88%. MKS's dividend payout ratio is currently 26.27%.

MKS Company 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.

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