Victory Capital Management Inc. Increases Holdings in MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI)

Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI - Free Report) by 9.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,388,639 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after purchasing an additional 300,356 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned approximately 5.02% of MKS worth $271,599,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its position in shares of MKS by 68.6% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 263 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in MKS in the 4th quarter worth $36,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its holdings in shares of MKS by 12.5% during the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 16,091 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $1,680,000 after purchasing an additional 1,784 shares during the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. grew its position in shares of MKS by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 2,143 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $224,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swiss National Bank grew its position in shares of MKS by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 132,300 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $13,811,000 after purchasing an additional 1,000 shares in the last quarter. 99.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on MKSI. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on MKS from $93.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on MKS from $85.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of MKS in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. They issued a "sell" rating and a $90.00 price target on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of MKS from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $110.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of MKS from $105.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, MKS has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $118.80.

MKS Trading Up 2.2%

Shares of MKSI traded up $2.28 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $104.25. The stock had a trading volume of 599,165 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,213,196. The stock's 50 day moving average is $93.36 and its 200 day moving average is $92.19. The firm has a market cap of $7.03 billion, a PE ratio of 31.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 3.11 and a quick ratio of 1.96. MKS Inc. has a 1 year low of $54.84 and a 1 year high of $135.39.

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

MKS Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th were given a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.84%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 27th. MKS's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.27%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, EVP David Philip Henry sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.00, for a total transaction of $210,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 20,571 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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 can be accessed through this link. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by 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.