MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) Receives $119.80 Average Price Target from Analysts

Key Points

• MKS Inc. has received a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from analysts, with one sell rating, one hold rating, and eight buy ratings.
• The average price target for MKS shares among brokerages is $119.80, reflecting some optimism regarding the stock's future performance.
• The company recently disclosed a quarterly dividend of $0.22 per share, with a scheduled payout date of September 5th, representing a 0.9% dividend yield.

Shares of MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI - Get Free Report) have earned an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the ten analysts that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has assigned a hold recommendation and eight have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $119.80.

MKSI has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of MKS from $105.00 to $118.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, July 14th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of MKS from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price target on shares of MKS from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a "buy" rating on shares of MKS in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of MKS from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 22nd.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP David Philip Henry sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president directly 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 accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Jacqueline F. Moloney sold 300 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.10, for a total transaction of $27,630.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 11,862 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,092,490.20. The trade was a 2.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MKS

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of MKSI. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of MKS by 46.9% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 626,143 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $65,365,000 after purchasing an additional 199,795 shares during the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of MKS by 9.0% in the 4th quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 38,103 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $3,978,000 after purchasing an additional 3,154 shares during the last quarter. Stifel Financial Corp increased its position in shares of MKS by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 62,009 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $6,474,000 after purchasing an additional 2,270 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC purchased a new stake in shares of MKS in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $493,000. Finally, Pinebridge Investments L.P. increased its position in shares of MKS by 91.3% in the 4th quarter. Pinebridge Investments L.P. now owns 38,669 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $4,037,000 after purchasing an additional 18,451 shares during the last quarter. 99.79% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MKS Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MKSI traded down $0.87 during trading on Friday, hitting $105.68. The company had a trading volume of 749,313 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,115,036. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $100.74 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $89.76. MKS has a fifty-two week low of $54.84 and a fifty-two week high of $125.33. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.86. The company has a quick ratio of 1.88, a current ratio of 2.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71.

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

MKS Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, August 25th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. MKS's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.