MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) Given Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Key Points

• MKS Inc. has received a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from eleven analysts, with eight analysts recommending buying the stock.
• The average 12-month price target for MKS is $119.80, with several firms adjusting their price targets recently, including an increase from Morgan Stanley to $112.00.
• MKS reported earnings of $1.77 per share for the latest quarter, exceeding expectations and showing a 9.7% year-over-year revenue growth.

MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI - Get Free Report) has received a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the eleven analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $119.80.

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MKSI. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price target on shares of MKS from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target 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. Zacks Research lowered shares of MKS from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 26th. Morgan Stanley raised 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. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of MKS in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. They set a "sell" rating and a $90.00 price target on the stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other MKS news, EVP David Philip Henry sold 5,000 shares of MKS stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.00, for a total value of $650,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 15,571 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,024,230. The trade was a 24.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Elizabeth Mora sold 300 shares of MKS stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $99.85, for a total transaction of $29,955.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 19,263 shares in the company, 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 7,600 shares of company stock valued at $917,585. Company insiders own 0.57% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of MKS

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. MAI Capital Management lifted its holdings in MKS by 12.5% during the second quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 956 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $95,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in MKS by 1.1% during the second quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 10,964 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $1,089,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares in the last quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors lifted its holdings in MKS by 25.0% during the second quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 625 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in MKS by 4.4% during the second quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 3,620 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $360,000 after purchasing an additional 154 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of Michigan Retirement System lifted its holdings in MKS by 1.3% during the first quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 16,140 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $1,294,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.79% of the company's stock.

MKS Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of NASDAQ MKSI traded down $1.30 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $128.62. 5,743,636 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,074,754. The stock has a market cap of $8.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.64, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.94. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $104.38 and a 200 day simple moving average of $90.98. MKS has a 1-year low of $54.84 and a 1-year high of $132.44. 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 (NASDAQ:MKSI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 6th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.77 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $973.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $931.05 million. MKS had a net margin of 7.11% and a return on equity of 20.65%. The business's revenue was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.53 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that MKS will post 6.94 EPS for the current fiscal 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 0.7%. MKS's payout ratio is currently 22.34%.

About MKS

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.