MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) Shares Acquired by M&T Bank Corp

M&T Bank Corp increased its stake in MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI - Free Report) by 15.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 18,884 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,530 shares during the quarter. M&T Bank Corp's holdings in MKS were worth $1,513,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in MKS by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,445,956 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $777,283,000 after acquiring an additional 97,392 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in MKS by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,291,478 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $239,207,000 after acquiring an additional 6,715 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in MKS by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,231,467 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $232,943,000 after acquiring an additional 6,964 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in MKS during the 4th quarter valued at about $85,451,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in MKS by 46.9% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 626,143 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $65,365,000 after acquiring an additional 199,795 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.79% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MKSI has been the subject of several recent research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their target price on shares of MKS from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of MKS from $85.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Needham & Company LLC dropped their target price on shares of MKS from $145.00 to $140.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 9th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of MKS from $93.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Mizuho upped 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, MKS presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $118.80.

MKS Trading Up 1.9%

MKS stock traded up $1.97 during trading on Thursday, reaching $103.94. The company had a trading volume of 987,730 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,053,995. MKS Inc. has a 12-month low of $54.84 and a 12-month high of $135.39. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $93.89 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $92.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.03, a PEG ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a current ratio of 3.11.

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $936.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $913.59 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.18 earnings per share. MKS's revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts expect that MKS Inc. will post 6.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MKS Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 27th were issued a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 27th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.85%. MKS's payout ratio is 26.27%.

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 shares were sold at an average price of $105.00, for a total value of $210,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 20,571 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,159,955. The trade was a 8.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.57% of the company's stock.

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.