Ethic Inc. Buys 4,434 Shares of MKS Inc. $MKSI

Key Points

• Ethic Inc. increased its stake in MKS Inc. by 24.8% during the second quarter, owning a total of 22,297 shares worth approximately $2.23 million.
• MKS recently reported earnings of $1.77 per share, surpassing analysts' expectations of $1.61 and showing a 9.7% year-over-year revenue growth to $973 million.
• The company announced a dividend of $0.22 per share, yielding 0.6% annually, with a current payout ratio of 22.34%.

Ethic Inc. boosted its stake in shares of MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI - Free Report) by 24.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 22,297 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after acquiring an additional 4,434 shares during the quarter. Ethic Inc.'s holdings in MKS were worth $2,234,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bayforest Capital Ltd bought a new position in shares of MKS during the second quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Optimum Investment Advisors grew its stake in shares of MKS by 66.7% during the first quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 500 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Steph & Co. bought a new position in shares of MKS during the second quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Brooklyn Investment Group grew its stake in shares of MKS by 1,168.3% during the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 799 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $64,000 after buying an additional 736 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC grew its stake in shares of MKS by 79.2% during the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 828 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $66,000 after buying an additional 366 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.79% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other MKS news, Director Elizabeth Mora sold 300 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.85, for a total transaction of $29,955.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 19,263 shares in the company, valued at $1,923,410.55. This 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 the SEC website. Also, EVP David Philip Henry sold 5,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.00, for a total value of $650,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 15,571 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,024,230. This represents a 24.31% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 5,900 shares of company stock worth $744,227 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.57% of the company's stock.

MKS Stock Up 1.6%

MKS stock opened at $142.94 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $120.56 and a two-hundred day moving average of $99.81. 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 firm has a market cap of $9.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 1.97. MKS Inc. has a twelve month low of $54.84 and a twelve month high of $146.84.

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI - Get Free Report) last posted 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. The company had revenue of $973.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $931.05 million. MKS had a return on equity of 20.65% and a net margin of 7.11%.MKS's revenue was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.53 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that MKS Inc. will post 6.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MKS Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 25th were issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 25th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. MKS's dividend payout ratio is currently 22.34%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Mizuho upped their target price on MKS from $118.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Zacks Research cut MKS from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "buy" rating on shares of MKS in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Wall Street Zen raised MKS from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, September 20th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on MKS from $92.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $130.70.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.