Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Raises Holdings in MKS Inc. $MKSI

Key Points

• The Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its stake in MKS Inc. by 12.6%, acquiring an additional 3,100 shares, bringing its total holdings to 27,800 shares valued at approximately $2.2 million.
• MKS reported earnings of $1.77 per share for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations, with a revenue increase of 9.7% year-over-year, totaling $973 million.
• The firm announced a quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share, with a yield of 0.9%, scheduled for payment on September 5th, reflecting a 22.34% dividend payout ratio.

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its stake in MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI - Free Report) by 12.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 27,800 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after buying an additional 3,100 shares during the quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board's holdings in MKS were worth $2,228,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Optimum Investment Advisors raised its holdings in MKS by 66.7% in the 1st quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 500 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its holdings in MKS by 89.3% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 581 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 274 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its holdings in MKS by 1,168.3% in the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 799 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 736 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in MKS by 79.2% in the 1st quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 828 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $66,000 after purchasing an additional 366 shares during the period. Finally, PharVision Advisers LLC acquired a new position in MKS in the 4th quarter worth about $261,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.79% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MKSI has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on MKS in a report on Thursday, July 10th. They set a "sell" rating and a $90.00 target price for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price objective on MKS from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of MKS in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Zacks Research lowered MKS from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lowered their price objective on MKS from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $119.80.

Insider Buying and Selling at MKS

In other MKS news, Director Elizabeth Mora sold 300 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.85, for a total value of $29,955.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 19,263 shares in the company, valued at $1,923,410.55. This trade represents a 1.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, 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 transaction, the director directly 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 2,600 shares of company stock worth $267,585 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.57% of the company's stock.

MKS Trading Up 2.1%

Shares of MKSI traded up $2.31 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $110.60. 1,179,667 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 860,608. The firm has a market cap of $7.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 1.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71, a quick ratio of 1.88 and a current ratio of 2.99. MKS Inc. has a 52-week low of $54.84 and a 52-week high of $125.33. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $102.22 and a 200 day simple moving average of $89.63.

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI - Get Free Report) last announced 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 the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $973.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $931.05 million. MKS had a return on equity of 20.65% and a net margin of 7.11%.The company's revenue for the quarter was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.53 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that MKS Inc. will post 6.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MKS Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 25th were paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 25th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. MKS's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.34%.

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.