Trexquant Investment LP Buys 51,541 Shares of MKS Inc. $MKSI

Key Points

• Trexquant Investment LP significantly increased its stake in MKS Inc. by 357.4% in the first quarter, now holding approximately $5.29 million worth of shares.
• MKS reported earnings of $1.77 per share for the last quarter, exceeding estimates, with a revenue of $973 million, marking a 9.7% increase year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 0.9%, to be paid on September 5th.

Trexquant Investment LP grew its holdings in shares of MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI - Free Report) by 357.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 65,961 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after buying an additional 51,541 shares during the quarter. Trexquant Investment LP owned approximately 0.10% of MKS worth $5,287,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Teacher Retirement System of Texas acquired a new position in shares of MKS during the 1st quarter worth about $789,000. Artemis Investment Management LLP grew its position in shares of MKS by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 251,799 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $20,182,000 after purchasing an additional 5,422 shares in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp grew its position in shares of MKS by 15.5% during the 1st quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 18,884 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $1,513,000 after purchasing an additional 2,530 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of MKS by 16.2% during the 1st quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 110,765 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $8,878,000 after purchasing an additional 15,482 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its position in shares of MKS by 33.7% during the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 11,973 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $960,000 after purchasing an additional 3,021 shares in the last quarter. 99.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Zacks Research downgraded shares of MKS from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, August 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a "buy" rating on shares of MKS in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of MKS from $100.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. 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, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of MKS from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $119.80.

Insider Transactions at MKS

In other news, Director Jacqueline F. Moloney sold 300 shares of MKS 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 owned 11,862 shares in the company, valued at $1,092,490.20. This trade represents a 2.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Elizabeth Mora sold 300 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $99.85, for a total transaction of $29,955.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 19,263 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,923,410.55. This represents a 1.53% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 2,600 shares of company stock worth $267,585 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.57% of the company's stock.

MKS Stock Up 2.7%

Shares of MKSI traded up $2.77 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $104.49. 810,050 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 875,034. The company has a market cap of $7.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.52, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.94. 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 Inc. has a 52 week low of $54.84 and a 52 week high of $125.33. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $101.75 and a 200 day simple moving average of $89.44.

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.77 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.16. The business had revenue of $973.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $931.05 million. MKS had a net margin of 7.11% and a return on equity of 20.65%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.53 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that MKS Inc. will post 6.94 EPS for the current year.

MKS Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 25th were given a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 25th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. MKS's payout ratio is currently 22.34%.

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.