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

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Optimum Investment Advisors grew its holdings in shares of MKS by 66.7% during the 1st quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 500 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of MKS by 89.3% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 581 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 274 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its position in shares of MKS by 1,168.3% in the 1st quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 799 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 736 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC raised its position in shares of MKS by 79.2% in the 1st quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 828 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 366 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC raised its position 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 acquiring an additional 1,012 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.79% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Zacks Research lowered MKS from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. Wall Street Zen raised MKS from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, August 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "buy" rating on shares of MKS in a research note on Friday, August 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on MKS in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. They set a "sell" rating and a $90.00 target price for the company. Finally, Needham & Company LLC decreased their target price on MKS from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $119.80.

MKS Stock Up 1.5%

Shares of MKS stock traded up $1.48 during trading on Thursday, hitting $101.72. 651,402 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 945,205. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $101.67 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $89.57. MKS Inc. has a twelve month low of $54.84 and a twelve month 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 stock has a market cap of $6.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.82, a PEG ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.94.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.16. MKS had a return on equity of 20.65% and a net margin of 7.11%.The firm had revenue of $973.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $931.05 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.53 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that MKS Inc. will post 6.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MKS Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other MKS news, Director Elizabeth Mora sold 300 shares of MKS stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.85, for a total value of $29,955.00. Following the transaction, 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 at the SEC website. Also, Director Jacqueline F. Moloney sold 300 shares of MKS stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director directly owned 11,862 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,092,490.20. This represents a 2.47% 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 valued at $267,585 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.57% of the company's stock.

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.