Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Purchases 51,836 Shares of MKS Inc. $MKSI

Key Points

• Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in MKS Inc. by 7.8%, owning approximately 718,239 shares worth about $57.57 million as of the latest SEC filing.
• MKS reported a quarterly EPS of $1.77, surpassing analysts' expectations, with revenues of $973 million, marking a 9.7% increase compared to the previous year.
• The company has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share, set to be paid on September 5th, representing an annual yield of 0.9%.

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI - Free Report) by 7.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 718,239 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after purchasing an additional 51,836 shares during the quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned approximately 1.06% of MKS worth $57,567,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Teacher Retirement System of Texas purchased a new stake in shares of MKS in the first quarter worth about $789,000. Artemis Investment Management LLP boosted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 5,422 shares during the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp boosted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 2,530 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 15,482 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in MKS during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,312,000. 99.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on MKSI. Needham & Company LLC cut their price objective on MKS from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price target on MKS from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Mizuho increased their price target on MKS from $105.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on MKS from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on MKS from $100.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, MKS currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $119.80.

Insider Activity at MKS

In other news, EVP David Philip Henry sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.00, for a total transaction of $210,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 20,571 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,159,955. This represents a 8.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Jacqueline F. Moloney sold 300 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 of the company's stock, 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. Corporate insiders own 0.57% of the company's stock.

MKS Price Performance

Shares of MKSI traded up $0.88 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $101.10. 927,309 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,198,244. The company has a market capitalization of $6.79 billion, a PE ratio of 25.66, a PEG ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71, a current ratio of 2.99 and a quick ratio of 1.88. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $99.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $89.93. MKS Inc. has a one year low of $54.84 and a one year high of $125.33.

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 firm had revenue of $973.00 million for 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 business's quarterly revenue was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.53 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that MKS Inc. will post 6.94 earnings per share for the current year.

MKS Dividend Announcement

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