Royal Bank of Canada Raises Holdings in MKS Inc. $MKSI

Key Points

• Royal Bank of Canada increased its holdings in MKS Inc. by 28.2% during the first quarter, now owning approximately 0.78% of the company with shares valued at $42,066,000.
• Several hedge funds have also increased their stakes in MKS, contributing to a total of 99.79% of the stock being owned by institutional investors.
• MKS reported earnings of $1.77 per share for the last quarter, surpassing estimates and reflecting a 9.7% year-over-year revenue increase.

Royal Bank of Canada raised its position in MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI - Free Report) by 28.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 524,837 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after acquiring an additional 115,496 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada owned approximately 0.78% of MKS worth $42,066,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MKSI. Harber Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of MKS in the first quarter worth about $6,584,000. Sculptor Capital LP purchased a new stake in MKS in the 1st quarter worth approximately $5,073,000. Kodai Capital Management LP grew its position in shares of MKS by 138.3% in the 1st quarter. Kodai Capital Management LP now owns 708,021 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $56,748,000 after buying an additional 410,865 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its stake in shares of MKS by 10.6% during the first quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 543,421 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $43,560,000 after buying an additional 51,924 shares during the period. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its stake in shares of MKS by 12.6% during the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 27,800 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $2,228,000 after buying an additional 3,100 shares during the period. 99.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at MKS

In other news, Director Elizabeth Mora sold 300 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.85, for a total transaction of $29,955.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 19,263 shares in the company, valued at $1,923,410.55. This trade represents a 1.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP David Philip Henry sold 2,000 shares of MKS stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 3rd. The stock was 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 directly owned 20,571 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,159,955. This represents a 8.86% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 2,600 shares of company stock valued at $267,585. Insiders own 0.57% of the company's stock.

MKS Stock Up 4.9%

MKSI traded up $5.40 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $116.00. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,562,853 shares, compared to its average volume of 874,811. MKS Inc. has a 1 year low of $54.84 and a 1 year high of $125.33. The stock's 50-day moving average is $102.44 and its 200-day moving average is $89.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.44, a PEG ratio of 1.28 and a beta of 1.94. The company has a current ratio of 2.99, a quick ratio of 1.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71.

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.16. MKS had a net margin of 7.11% and a return on equity of 20.65%. The firm had revenue of $973.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $931.05 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.53 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that MKS Inc. will post 6.94 EPS for the current year.

MKS Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 25th were issued a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 25th. MKS's payout ratio is 22.34%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on MKSI shares. Zacks Research lowered MKS from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 26th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of MKS from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Sunday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of MKS in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of MKS from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on MKS from $100.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $119.80.

MKS 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.