MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) Sets New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) shares reached a new 52-week high on Monday . The company traded as high as $248.37 and last traded at $248.5990, with a volume of 326722 shares. The stock had previously closed at $242.96.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on MKSI shares. Benchmark boosted their target price on MKS from $135.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of MKS from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of MKS in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of MKS from $122.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 12th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lifted their target price on MKS from $210.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, MKS has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $231.50.

MKS Trading Up 2.6%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 2.86 and a quick ratio of 1.81. The company has a market capitalization of $17.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 62.88, a P/E/G ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 1.95. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $191.92 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $148.57.

MKS Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This is an increase from MKS’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 23rd. MKS’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.36%.

Insider Buying and Selling at MKS

In other MKS news, Director Elizabeth Mora sold 300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.81, for a total transaction of $47,643.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 18,963 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,011,514.03. The trade was a 1.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of MKS

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. USA Financial Formulas acquired a new position in shares of MKS in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its stake in MKS by 560.0% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 165 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc increased its position in MKS by 616.7% in the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 172 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. acquired a new position in shares of MKS during the third quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of MKS by 74.5% in the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 260 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.79% of the company’s stock.

About MKS

MKS Instruments, Inc (NASDAQ: MKSI) designs, manufactures and markets technology solutions that enable advanced processes in a variety of high‐technology and industrial markets. The company’s core offerings include vacuum and gas delivery systems, pressure and flow measurement instruments, optical metrology tools, photonics subsystems and critical components for manufacturing processes. These products support the precise control and monitoring needs of semiconductor, industrial manufacturing, life and health sciences, and research applications.

The company’s product portfolio features mass flow controllers, pressure transducers, vacuum gauges, gas purity monitors, laser-based metrology systems and photonic devices such as lasers and detectors.