OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd Acquires New Holdings in MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI)

OVERSEA CHINESE BANKING Corp Ltd acquired a new position in shares of MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 31,903 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock, valued at approximately $2,557,000.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of MKSI. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased 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 buying an additional 107 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in MKS in the fourth quarter worth $36,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in MKS in the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Optimum Investment Advisors grew its holdings in MKS by 66.7% in the first 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. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC grew its holdings in MKS by 89.3% in the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 581 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $47,000 after purchasing an additional 274 shares during the period. 99.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on MKSI. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price target on shares of MKS from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of MKS in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. They issued a "sell" rating and a $90.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of 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 raised their price objective on shares of MKS from $85.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Mizuho raised 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 research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $118.80.

Insider Buying and Selling at MKS

In other news, EVP David Philip Henry sold 2,000 shares of MKS stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 20,571 shares in the company, valued at $2,159,955. This trade represents a 8.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.57% of the stock is owned by insiders.

MKS Stock Performance

MKSI stock traded up $1.97 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $103.94. The company had a trading volume of 987,730 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,056,444. The firm has a market cap of $7.01 billion, a PE ratio of 31.03, 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 quick ratio of 1.96 and a current ratio of 3.11. MKS Inc. has a 12 month low of $54.84 and a 12 month high of $141.45. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $93.36 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $92.19.

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

MKS Announces Dividend

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

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.