2,925 Shares in MKS Inc. $MKSI Acquired by Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC

Key Points

• Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC invested approximately $234,000 in MKS Inc., acquiring 2,925 shares of the company during the first quarter.
• MKS Inc. recently reported earnings of $1.77 per share, exceeding analyst estimates and reflecting a 9.7% increase in quarterly revenue year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share, with a payout date on September 5th, representing an annualized yield of 0.8%.

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 2,925 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock, valued at approximately $234,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Optimum Investment Advisors boosted its position in MKS by 66.7% in the 1st 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. Parallel Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of MKS by 89.3% during the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 581 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 274 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC boosted its stake in shares of MKS by 79.2% during the 1st 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. Quarry LP boosted its stake in shares of MKS by 1,330.9% during the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 787 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $82,000 after buying an additional 732 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC boosted its stake in shares of MKS by 64.8% during the 1st quarter. CWM LLC now owns 2,574 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $206,000 after buying an additional 1,012 shares during the last quarter. 99.79% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MKS Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MKSI traded down $1.37 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $105.18. The company had a trading volume of 290,133 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,180,578. The stock has a market cap of $7.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.65, a PEG ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.86. MKS Inc. has a 12 month low of $54.84 and a 12 month high of $125.33. 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's 50 day simple moving average is $100.47 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $89.65.

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.77 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $973.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $931.05 million. MKS had a return on equity of 20.65% and a net margin of 7.11%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.53 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast 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. Investors of record on Monday, August 25th will be paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 25th. MKS's payout ratio is currently 22.34%.

Insider Transactions at MKS

In related news, EVP David Philip Henry sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.00, for a total transaction of $210,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 20,571 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,159,955. The trade was 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 available at the SEC website. 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 completion of the sale, the director directly owned 11,862 shares in the company, valued at $1,092,490.20. This represents a 2.47% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.51% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Mizuho increased their price objective 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. Wall Street Zen cut shares of MKS from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd. Needham & Company LLC reduced their price target on shares of MKS from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on MKS in a report on Thursday, July 10th. They set a "sell" rating and a $90.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on MKS from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $119.80.

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.