Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky Acquires 7,292 Shares of MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI)

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky lifted its holdings in shares of MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI - Free Report) by 21.7% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 40,833 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after purchasing an additional 7,292 shares during the period. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky owned 0.06% of MKS worth $3,272,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in MKSI. Teacher Retirement System of Texas acquired a new stake in shares of MKS during the 1st quarter worth approximately $789,000. Prudential Financial Inc. boosted its position in shares of MKS by 772.7% in the 4th quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 61,447 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $6,481,000 after purchasing an additional 54,406 shares during the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group acquired a new stake in shares of MKS during the fourth quarter worth $1,480,000. Artemis Investment Management LLP increased its holdings in MKS by 2.2% in the first quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 251,799 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $20,182,000 after purchasing an additional 5,422 shares during the last quarter. Finally, M&T Bank Corp increased its holdings in MKS by 15.5% in the first quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 18,884 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $1,513,000 after purchasing an additional 2,530 shares during the last quarter. 99.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other 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 transaction, the executive vice president owned 20,571 shares of the company's stock, 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 at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.51% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MKSI has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on MKS in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. They issued a "sell" rating and a $90.00 target price for the company. Needham & Company LLC lowered their target price on MKS from $145.00 to $140.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of MKS from $85.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of MKS from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $110.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of MKS from $100.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, MKS presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $120.00.

MKS Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of MKS stock opened at $102.42 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.91 billion, a PE ratio of 30.57, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.88. The company has a current ratio of 3.11, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87. The firm's 50 day moving average is $94.81 and its 200 day moving average is $92.05. 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 the consensus estimate of $1.42 by $0.29. MKS had a return on equity of 20.67% and a net margin of 6.21%. The company had revenue of $936.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $913.59 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.18 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that MKS Inc. will post 6.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MKS Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th were paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 27th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.86%. MKS's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.27%.

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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