Phoenix Financial Ltd. Makes New Investment in MKS Inc. $MKSI

Key Points

• Phoenix Financial initiated a position in MKS, buying 115,824 shares valued at approximately $30.7 million, or 0.17% of the company.
• MKS reported quarterly EPS of $4.18, beating the $3.63 consensus, while revenue of $1.41 billion exceeded estimates and rose 43% year over year.
• The company authorized a $500 million share buyback and announced a $0.25 quarterly dividend. Analysts’ consensus rating was “Moderate Buy,” with an average price target of $366.77.

Phoenix Financial Ltd. bought a new position in shares of MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 115,824 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock, valued at approximately $30,736,000. Phoenix Financial Ltd. owned 0.17% of MKS as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Keating Financial Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in MKS during the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Allied Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MKS in the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Clearstead Trust LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MKS in the second quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Ancora Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of MKS during the second quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of MKS by 47.5% during the second quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. 99.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on MKSI. Wall Street Zen upgraded MKS from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on MKS from $285.00 to $195.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 6th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $600.00 target price on shares of MKS in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Needham & Company LLC reduced their price target on MKS from $390.00 to $300.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, November 5th. Finally, Deutsche Bank set a $360.00 price target on MKS in a research report on Friday, July 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $366.77.

MKS Price Performance

MKS stock traded down $5.85 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $215.65. 1,314,656 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,621,678. MKS Inc. has a 1-year low of $134.74 and a 1-year high of $447.62. The firm has a market cap of $14.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.58, a P/E/G ratio of 0.39 and a beta of 2.14. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $236.72 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $276.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.74, a current ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 4th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $4.18 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.63 by $0.55. The company had revenue of $1.41 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.36 billion. MKS had a return on equity of 28.77% and a net margin of 12.64%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 43.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.93 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that MKS Inc. will post 14.46 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MKS Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 7th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 25th. MKS's payout ratio is presently 11.86%.

MKS declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, November 4th that allows the company to buy back $500 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the scientific and technical instruments company to repurchase up to 3.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Share repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at MKS

In other MKS news, Director Elizabeth Mora sold 300 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.96, for a total value of $75,288.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 18,845 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,729,341.20. The trade was a 1.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

MKS Company Profile

MKS Inc. develops technologies used to manufacture semiconductor devices and other advanced products. Its offerings include instruments, components, subsystems and systems that measure and control pressure, gas flow, gas composition, power and other process conditions. The company also provides laser and photonics technologies, motion-control solutions, and specialty chemicals and plating equipment. These products support semiconductor fabrication and packaging, electronics manufacturing, life sciences and a range of industrial applications.

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