Wellington Management Group LLP Increases Stock Holdings in MKS Inc. $MKSI

Key Points

• Wellington Management Group LLP has increased its holdings in MKS Inc. by 41.8% during the first quarter, owning over 3.25 million shares valued at approximately $260 million.
• MKS Inc. reported earnings of $1.77 per share for the last quarter, surpassing analyst expectations and marking a 9.7% increase in revenue year-over-year.
• The company has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share, with a record date of August 25th, representing a 0.9% annual yield.

Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI - Free Report) by 41.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 3,250,085 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after acquiring an additional 958,607 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP owned approximately 4.82% of MKS worth $260,494,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MKSI. ProShare Advisors LLC increased its position 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 worth $1,247,000 after acquiring an additional 123 shares during the period. Optimum Investment Advisors boosted its holdings in MKS by 66.7% in the first quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 500 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. State of Michigan Retirement System grew 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 purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its position in MKS by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 7,881 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $631,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.79% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Jacqueline F. Moloney sold 300 shares of MKS stock in a transaction on Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.10, for a total value of $27,630.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 11,862 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,092,490.20. The trade was a 2.47% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP David Philip Henry sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.00, for a total transaction of $210,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 20,571 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,159,955. This trade represents a 8.86% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.57% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MKSI has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on MKS in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. They set a "sell" rating and a $90.00 price objective for the company. Mizuho lifted their price target 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. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of MKS from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Needham & Company LLC reduced their price objective on shares of MKS from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 7th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald boosted 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. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $119.80.

MKS Stock Performance

Shares of MKSI stock traded up $5.83 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $105.25. 909,961 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,090,212. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $99.93 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $89.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71, a quick ratio of 1.88 and a current ratio of 2.99. MKS Inc. has a 12-month low of $54.84 and a 12-month high of $125.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 1.86.

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $973.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $931.05 million. MKS had a return on equity of 20.65% and a net margin of 7.11%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.53 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that MKS Inc. will post 6.94 EPS for the current year.

MKS Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 25th will be issued a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 25th. MKS's dividend payout ratio is presently 22.34%.

MKS Company 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.