Gamco Investors INC. ET AL Has $685,000 Stake in MKS Inc. $MKSI

Key Points

• Gamco Investors INC. increased its stake in MKS Inc. by 110.5% in Q1, acquiring an additional 4,485 shares, bringing its total holdings to 8,545 shares valued at approximately $685,000.
• MKS Inc. reported a strong quarterly earnings performance, with an EPS of $1.77 exceeding estimates, and revenue of $973 million, reflecting a 9.7% year-over-year increase.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share, with an annualized yield of 0.9%, scheduled for payment on September 5th.

Gamco Investors INC. ET AL raised its stake in MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI - Free Report) by 110.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,545 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after buying an additional 4,485 shares during the period. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL's holdings in MKS were worth $685,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Teacher Retirement System of Texas bought a new position in shares of MKS in the first quarter worth about $789,000. Artemis Investment Management LLP lifted its holdings in MKS by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 251,799 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $20,182,000 after buying an additional 5,422 shares in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp raised its position in shares of MKS by 15.5% during the 1st quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 18,884 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $1,513,000 after acquiring an additional 2,530 shares during the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of MKS by 16.2% in the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 110,765 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $8,878,000 after buying an additional 15,482 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its holdings in MKS by 33.7% during the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 11,973 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $960,000 after purchasing an additional 3,021 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.79% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MKSI has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of MKS from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday. Zacks Research downgraded MKS from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 26th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of MKS from $100.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price target on shares of MKS from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of MKS in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. They set a "sell" rating and a $90.00 price target on the stock. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $119.80.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Jacqueline F. Moloney sold 300 shares of MKS stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.10, for a total transaction of $27,630.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 11,862 shares in the company, valued at $1,092,490.20. This trade represents a 2.47% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP David Philip Henry sold 2,000 shares of MKS 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,159,955. This represents a 8.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 2,600 shares of company stock worth $267,585 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.51% of the company's stock.

MKS Price Performance

Shares of MKSI traded down $2.54 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $99.42. The company had a trading volume of 286,972 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,171,978. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $101.61 and its 200 day simple moving average is $89.51. MKS Inc. has a 1-year low of $54.84 and a 1-year high of $125.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71, a quick ratio of 1.88 and a current ratio of 2.99. The company has a market capitalization of $6.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.94.

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI - Get Free Report) last posted 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. MKS had a net margin of 7.11% and a return on equity of 20.65%. The company had revenue of $973.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $931.05 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.53 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that MKS Inc. will post 6.94 EPS for the current year.

MKS Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 5th. Investors of record on Monday, August 25th will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 25th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. MKS's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.34%.

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.