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

Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky grew its holdings in shares of MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI - Free Report) by 21.7% in 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 acquiring an additional 7,292 shares during the period. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky owned about 0.06% of MKS worth $3,272,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its stake in shares of MKS by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 9,748 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $1,018,000 after acquiring an additional 94 shares during the last quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. raised its stake in shares of MKS by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 2,143 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $224,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of MKS by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 11,943 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $1,247,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares during the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina raised its stake in shares of MKS by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 29,392 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $3,068,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Optimum Investment Advisors raised its stake in shares of MKS by 66.7% during the first quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 500 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.79% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on MKSI shares. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of MKS in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. They set a "sell" rating and a $90.00 price target for the company. Needham & Company LLC lowered their target price on shares of MKS from $145.00 to $140.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of MKS from $100.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of MKS from $105.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their target price on shares of MKS from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. One investment 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 stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $120.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other MKS news, EVP David Philip Henry sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.00, for a total value of $210,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 20,571 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,159,955. This trade represents a 8.86% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.57% of the company's stock.

MKS Stock Down 0.0%

NASDAQ:MKSI traded down $0.04 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $99.50. The company had a trading volume of 583,969 shares, compared to its average volume of 883,358. The company has a quick ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 3.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87. The firm has a market cap of $6.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.88. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $95.27 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $91.77. MKS Inc. has a twelve month low of $54.84 and a twelve month high of $128.20.

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 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.29. The business had revenue of $936.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $913.59 million. MKS had a net margin of 6.21% and a return on equity of 20.67%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.18 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that MKS Inc. will post 6.94 earnings per share for the current 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 issued a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.88%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 27th. MKS's payout ratio is 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.