9,838 Shares in MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) Purchased by Teacher Retirement System of Texas

Teacher Retirement System of Texas acquired a new stake in MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 9,838 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock, valued at approximately $789,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MKSI. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its stake in shares of MKS by 68.6% in the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 263 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MKS during the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its holdings in shares of MKS by 12.5% during the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 16,091 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $1,680,000 after buying an additional 1,784 shares during the period. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. raised its holdings in shares of MKS by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 2,143 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $224,000 after buying an additional 97 shares during the period. Finally, Swiss National Bank raised its holdings in shares of MKS by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 132,300 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $13,811,000 after buying an additional 1,000 shares during the period. 99.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on MKS from $85.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Needham & Company LLC dropped their target price on MKS from $145.00 to $140.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, May 9th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on MKS from $93.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price objective on MKS from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on MKS in a report on Thursday, July 10th. They set a "sell" rating and a $90.00 price objective on the stock. 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 company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $118.80.

MKS Stock Performance

Shares of MKSI stock traded down $0.76 on Tuesday, hitting $103.92. 970,369 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,051,547. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 3.11 and a quick ratio of 1.96. The company has a market capitalization of $7.01 billion, a PE ratio of 31.02, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.88. MKS Inc. has a 1-year low of $54.84 and a 1-year high of $145.59. The company's fifty day moving average is $91.58 and its 200 day moving average is $92.05.

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 return on equity of 20.67% and a net margin of 6.21%. The business's revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.18 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that MKS Inc. will post 6.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MKS Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 27th were given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 27th. MKS's dividend payout ratio is currently 26.27%.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP David Philip Henry sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 directly owned 20,571 shares in the company, valued at $2,159,955. This represents a 8.86% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.57% of the company's stock.

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.