Strs Ohio Invests $4.24 Million in MKS Inc. $MKSI

Key Points

• Strs Ohio invested approximately $4.24 million in MKS Inc., acquiring 52,894 shares of the company in the first quarter.
• MKS reported earnings of $1.77 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $1.61 and demonstrating a 9.7% year-over-year revenue increase.
• The company recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share, resulting in an annualized dividend yield of 0.8%.

Strs Ohio acquired a new position in shares of MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 52,894 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock, valued at approximately $4,239,000. Strs Ohio owned approximately 0.08% of MKS at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its position in MKS by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 11,943 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $1,247,000 after buying an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors lifted its position in MKS by 66.7% in the 1st quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 500 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System lifted its position in MKS by 1.3% in the 1st quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 16,140 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $1,294,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lifted its position in MKS by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 18,900 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $1,515,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue lifted its position in MKS by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 7,881 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $631,000 after buying an additional 205 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.79% of the company's stock.

MKS Trading Down 0.8%

NASDAQ MKSI opened at $115.10 on Monday. MKS Inc. has a 12 month low of $54.84 and a 12 month high of $125.33. The stock has a market cap of $7.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.33 and a beta of 1.94. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $102.65 and its 200-day moving average price is $89.81. 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 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.16. MKS had a return on equity of 20.65% and a net margin of 7.11%.The firm had revenue of $973.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $931.05 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.53 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that MKS Inc. will post 6.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MKS Dividend Announcement

The company 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 25th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. MKS's dividend payout ratio is currently 22.34%.

Insider Buying and Selling at MKS

In other MKS news, EVP David Philip Henry sold 2,000 shares of the 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 20,571 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,159,955. This represents a 8.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Jacqueline F. Moloney sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.10, for a total value of $27,630.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 11,862 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,092,490.20. This represents a 2.47% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 2,600 shares of company stock valued at $267,585. 0.57% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MKSI has been the subject of several recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on MKS in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. They issued a "sell" rating and a $90.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on MKS from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the company 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. Morgan Stanley boosted 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. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lowered their price objective on MKS from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. 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 MarketBeat.com, the stock presently 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.

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