Greenleaf Trust Buys Shares of 2,046 MKS Inc. $MKSI

Key Points

• Greenleaf Trust has acquired 2,046 shares of MKS Inc., valued at approximately $203,000, highlighting recent interest from institutional investors in the company.
• MKS Inc. recently reported earnings of $1.77 EPS, surpassing estimates and showing a 9.7% increase in revenue year over year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share, with an annual yield of 0.6% and a payout ratio of 22.34%.

Greenleaf Trust purchased a new position in MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 2,046 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock, valued at approximately $203,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MKSI. Optimum Investment Advisors grew its position in shares of MKS by 66.7% in the first quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 500 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Steph & Co. bought a new position in MKS during the second quarter worth about $42,000. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its stake in MKS by 89.3% during the first 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 lifted its stake in 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 worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 736 shares during the period. Finally, Signaturefd LLC lifted its stake in MKS by 79.2% during the first 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. 99.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MKS Trading Up 1.0%

MKSI opened at $137.86 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.59 and a beta of 1.97. MKS Inc. has a 12 month low of $54.84 and a 12 month high of $140.33. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $109.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $94.06. The company has a current ratio of 2.99, a quick ratio of 1.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71.

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.77 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 net margin of 7.11% and a return on equity of 20.65%. The firm's revenue was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.53 EPS. As a group, 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 given a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 25th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. MKS's payout ratio is 22.34%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of MKS from $105.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of MKS in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. They issued a "sell" rating and a $90.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of MKS from $100.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of MKS from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, September 20th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of MKS from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, MKS presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $119.80.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other MKS news, Director Elizabeth Mora sold 300 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.85, for a total transaction of $29,955.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 19,263 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,923,410.55. The trade was a 1.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP David Philip Henry sold 5,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.00, for a total transaction of $650,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 15,571 shares in the company, valued at $2,024,230. This trade represents a 24.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 5,900 shares of company stock valued at $744,227 in the last three months. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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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