Nuveen LLC Takes $10.99 Million 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 purchased a new stake in shares of MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 137,121 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock, valued at approximately $10,990,000. Nuveen LLC owned approximately 0.20% of MKS at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Optimum Investment Advisors grew its position 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 valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of MKS by 89.3% during 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. Quarry LP grew its position in shares of MKS by 1,330.9% during the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 787 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $82,000 after purchasing an additional 732 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC grew its position in shares of MKS by 79.2% during 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, PharVision Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of MKS during the 4th quarter valued at $261,000. 99.79% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of MKS from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of MKS in a research report on Friday, August 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of MKS in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. They issued a "sell" rating and a $90.00 target price for the company. Needham & Company LLC cut their target price on shares of MKS from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price 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. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, MKS has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $119.80.

MKS Trading Up 1.7%

MKS stock traded up $1.84 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $107.52. The company's stock had a trading volume of 700,560 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,103,309. 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 stock has a market cap of $7.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.86. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $101.05 and a 200-day moving average price of $89.72. MKS Inc. has a 12 month low of $54.84 and a 12 month high of $125.33.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $973.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $931.05 million. MKS had a net margin of 7.11% and a return on equity of 20.65%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.53 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that MKS Inc. will post 6.94 EPS for the current year.

MKS Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 25th will be paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 25th. MKS's dividend payout ratio is 22.34%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Jacqueline F. Moloney sold 300 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.10, for a total transaction of $27,630.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 11,862 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,092,490.20. This represents a 2.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP David Philip Henry sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.00, for a total transaction of $210,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 20,571 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,159,955. This trade represents a 8.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate 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.