China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. Buys New Stake in MKS Inc. $MKSI

Key Points

• China Universal Asset Management acquired 5,950 MKS shares worth approximately $1.58 million in the third quarter. Institutional investors collectively own 99.79% of the company, with several other major funds recently initiating or expanding positions.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive view of MKS, with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $374.86, despite some recent target-price reductions.
• MKS reported quarterly results above expectations, posting $3.30 in earnings per share and $1.25 billion in revenue, up 28.3% year over year. The company also declared a $0.25 quarterly dividend, equal to a 0.5% annualized yield.

China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 5,950 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock, valued at approximately $1,583,000.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in MKS during the 2nd quarter valued at $231,673,000. Madison Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in MKS in the second quarter valued at approximately $140,866,000. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in MKS in the second quarter worth $128,303,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in shares of MKS by 1,742.1% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 442,273 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $117,362,000 after acquiring an additional 418,264 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. acquired a new stake in shares of MKS in the second quarter worth $77,043,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.79% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MKSI. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on MKS from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of MKS from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Monday, September 28th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on MKS from $345.00 to $330.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Mizuho dropped their price target on shares of MKS from $360.00 to $330.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, August 25th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $360.00 target price on MKS in a research report on Friday, July 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $374.86.

MKS Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MKSI opened at $202.04 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 0.72. MKS Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $134.74 and a fifty-two week high of $447.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.66 billion, a PE ratio of 32.22, a P/E/G ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 2.03. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $248.05 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $277.20.

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $3.30 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.91 by $0.39. MKS had a return on equity of 24.72% and a net margin of 10.15%. The company had revenue of $1.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.20 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.77 EPS. MKS's revenue was up 28.3% on a year-over-year basis. MKS has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.270-3.890 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that MKS Inc. will post 13.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MKS Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 25th were issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 25th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. MKS's payout ratio is presently 15.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling at MKS

In related news, CEO John Tseng-Chung Lee sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $302.01, for a total transaction of $3,020,100.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 134,776 shares of the company's stock, valued at $40,703,699.76. This represents a 6.91% 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. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP John Williams sold 457 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.31, for a total transaction of $131,757.67. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 4,098 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,181,494.38. This trade represents a 10.03% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 10,757 shares of company stock valued at $3,227,146. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

MKS Company Profile

MKS Instruments, Inc NASDAQ: MKSI develops technologies that enable precision control and measurement in manufacturing and research environments. The company provides instruments, components, systems and process-control solutions used to measure and control pressure, flow, vacuum, gas delivery, temperature and other critical production conditions.

Its product portfolio includes vacuum solutions, pressure and flow-control instruments, gas and vapor delivery systems, plasma and reactive-gas technologies, power delivery systems, process-monitoring equipment, analytical instruments and materials-characterization tools.

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