Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Acquires 3,021 Shares of MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI)

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its holdings in shares of MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI - Free Report) by 33.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 11,973 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after acquiring an additional 3,021 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC's holdings in MKS were worth $960,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MKSI. Prudential Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of MKS by 772.7% in the 4th quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 61,447 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $6,481,000 after acquiring an additional 54,406 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group acquired a new position in MKS during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,480,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in MKS in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $85,451,000. Summit Global Investments acquired a new stake in MKS in the fourth quarter worth $1,254,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in MKS by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,291,478 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $239,207,000 after purchasing an additional 6,715 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 99.79% of the company's stock.

MKS Trading Down 0.1%

NASDAQ MKSI opened at $100.21 on Monday. MKS Inc. has a 52 week low of $54.84 and a 52 week high of $147.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a current ratio of 3.11. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $84.82 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $92.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.91, a PEG ratio of 1.13 and a beta of 1.84.

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.71 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.29. The business had revenue of $936.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $913.59 million. MKS had a net margin of 6.21% and a return on equity of 20.67%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.18 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that MKS Inc. will post 6.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MKS Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 27th were given a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 27th. MKS's dividend payout ratio is currently 26.27%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on MKSI shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of MKS from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $110.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on MKS from $93.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Needham & Company LLC dropped their price target on MKS from $145.00 to $140.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price objective on MKS from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, MKS presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $130.82.

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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