MKS Inc. $MKSI Stake Lessened by New York State Teachers Retirement System

New York State Teachers Retirement System lessened its stake in MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) by 0.2% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 65,286 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 100 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System’s holdings in MKS were worth $6,487,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Bayforest Capital Ltd bought a new stake in MKS during the second quarter valued at $39,000. Steph & Co. bought a new stake in MKS during the second quarter valued at $42,000. Optimum Investment Advisors increased its stake in MKS by 66.7% during 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 last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group increased its stake in MKS by 1,168.3% during the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 799 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 736 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC increased its stake in MKS by 79.2% during the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 828 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 366 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.79% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Jacqueline F. Moloney sold 300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $122.14, for a total value of $36,642.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 11,562 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,412,182.68. This represents a 2.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Elizabeth Mora sold 300 shares of the company’s 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $1,923,410.55. The trade was a 1.53% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 5,900 shares of company stock valued at $744,227 over the last 90 days. 0.51% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

MKS Stock Down 0.9%

MKS stock opened at $136.52 on Monday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $116.77 and a 200-day simple moving average of $97.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 1.97. 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 one year low of $54.84 and a one year high of $142.20.

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 during 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 quarterly revenue was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.53 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts expect that MKS Inc. will post 6.94 earnings per share for the current year.

MKS Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 5th. Investors of record on Monday, August 25th were issued 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 0.6%. MKS’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.34%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $151.00 target price on shares of MKS in a research note on Monday, October 13th. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of MKS from $118.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on shares of MKS from $130.00 to $136.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of MKS from $92.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price target on shares of MKS from $110.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $130.70.

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.