Nuveen LLC Acquires New Position in MKS Inc. $MKSI

Key Points

• Nuveen LLC has acquired a new stake in MKS Inc., purchasing 137,121 shares valued at approximately $10.99 million, representing about 0.20% of the company's total shares by the end of the last quarter.
• Several other institutional investors have also increased their stakes in MKS Inc., with the total institutional ownership now at 99.79%.
• MKS recently reported quarterly earnings with an EPS of $1.77, surpassing analysts' expectations, and has declared a quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share.

Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 137,121 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock, valued at approximately $10,990,000. Nuveen LLC owned 0.20% of MKS as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Aigen Investment Management LP increased its stake in shares of MKS by 67.3% during the 1st quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP now owns 11,908 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $954,000 after purchasing an additional 4,790 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC boosted its position in MKS by 86.3% during the 1st quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 26,106 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $2,092,000 after purchasing an additional 12,092 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its position in MKS by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 132,629 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $10,630,000 after purchasing an additional 1,623 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in MKS by 7.8% in the 1st quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 718,239 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $57,567,000 after buying an additional 51,836 shares during the last quarter. Finally, OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd purchased a new position in MKS in the 1st quarter valued at about $2,557,000. 99.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MKSI has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of MKS in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Mizuho increased 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, July 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price objective on shares of MKS from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of MKS from $100.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of MKS from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $119.80.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP David Philip Henry sold 2,000 shares of MKS stock in a transaction 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 owned 20,571 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,159,955. The trade was a 8.86% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Jacqueline F. Moloney sold 300 shares of MKS stock in a transaction on Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.10, for a total transaction of $27,630.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 11,862 shares in the company, valued at $1,092,490.20. This trade represents a 2.47% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.51% of the company's stock.

MKS Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MKSI traded down $0.92 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $105.63. 268,059 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,180,472. MKS Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $54.84 and a fifty-two week 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 has a market cap of $7.09 billion, a PE ratio of 26.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.86. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $100.47 and a 200-day simple moving average of $89.65.

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.77 EPS 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 business had revenue of $973.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $931.05 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.53 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that MKS Inc. will post 6.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MKS Dividend Announcement

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 issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 25th. MKS's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.