Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC Buys 12,132 Shares of MKS Inc. $MKSI

Key Points

• Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC significantly increased its stake in MKS Inc. by purchasing an additional 12,132 shares, leading to a total holding of 17,936 shares valued at approximately $1.78 million.
• Analysts have varying views on MKS, with most stating a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $130.70, while recent reports indicate upgrades and downgrades in their investment recommendations.
• MKS reported a quarterly earnings per share of $1.77, exceeding expectations, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share, showcasing strong performance in the market.

Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC lifted its stake in MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI - Free Report) by 209.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 17,936 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after purchasing an additional 12,132 shares during the period. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC's holdings in MKS were worth $1,782,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MKSI. Optimum Investment Advisors raised its stake in MKS by 66.7% during 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 period. State of Michigan Retirement System raised its stake in MKS by 1.3% during 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 period. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System raised its stake in MKS by 1.1% during 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 period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its stake in MKS by 2.7% during 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 period. Finally, Stonegate Investment Group LLC raised its stake in MKS by 13.7% during the 1st quarter. Stonegate Investment Group LLC now owns 2,742 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $220,000 after buying an additional 331 shares during the period. 99.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Jacqueline F. Moloney sold 300 shares of MKS stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $122.14, for a total transaction of $36,642.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 11,562 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,412,182.68. This trade represents a 2.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP David Philip Henry sold 5,000 shares of MKS stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $130.00, for a total value of $650,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 15,571 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,024,230. The trade was a 24.31% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 5,900 shares of company stock worth $744,227. Company insiders own 0.57% of the company's stock.

MKS Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MKSI opened at $137.75 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.96, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.97. The business has a 50-day moving average of $116.03 and a 200-day moving average of $96.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71, a current ratio of 2.99 and a quick ratio of 1.88. MKS Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $54.84 and a fifty-two week high of $142.20.

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 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.16. MKS had a return on equity of 20.65% and a net margin of 7.11%.The company had revenue of $973.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $931.05 million. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.53 EPS. MKS's revenue for the quarter was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that MKS Inc. will post 6.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MKS Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 5th. Investors of record on Monday, August 25th were issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 25th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.6%. MKS's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.34%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MKSI has been the topic of several recent research reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of MKS in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen raised MKS from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, September 20th. Mizuho lifted their price target on MKS from $118.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday. Zacks Research downgraded MKS from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 26th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a "buy" rating on shares of MKS in a report on Friday, August 8th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $130.70.

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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