Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC Increases Holdings in MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI)

Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC lifted its holdings in MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI - Free Report) by 3.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 92,784 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,665 shares during the quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC owned about 0.14% of MKS worth $7,437,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in MKS by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,445,956 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $777,283,000 after acquiring an additional 97,392 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of MKS by 9.7% during the 1st quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,388,639 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $271,599,000 after purchasing an additional 300,356 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in shares of MKS by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,291,478 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $239,207,000 after purchasing an additional 6,715 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in MKS by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,231,467 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $232,943,000 after acquiring an additional 6,964 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new stake in MKS during the 4th quarter valued at $85,451,000. 99.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on MKSI shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded MKS from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $110.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price objective on MKS from $145.00 to $140.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on MKS in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. They set a "sell" rating and a $90.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on MKS from $85.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on MKS from $93.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $118.80.

MKS Stock Performance

MKSI stock traded down $1.37 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $103.34. The company's stock had a trading volume of 695,135 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,050,962. The stock has a market cap of $6.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.73, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.88. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $94.38 and its 200 day moving average price is $92.01. The company has a quick ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 3.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87. MKS Inc. has a 1 year low of $54.84 and a 1 year high of $133.05.

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.29. The company had revenue of $936.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $913.59 million. MKS had a return on equity of 20.67% and a net margin of 6.21%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.18 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that MKS Inc. will post 6.94 EPS for the current 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 dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 27th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.85%. MKS's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 26.27%.

Insider Activity at MKS

In related news, EVP David Philip Henry sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.00, for a total transaction of $210,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 20,571 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,159,955. This trade represents a 8.86% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.51% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.