MKS Inc. (MKSI) – What Are Investment Firms Thinking About This Stock?

Shares of MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fifteen ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have assigned a hold recommendation, eleven have assigned a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $366.77.

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on MKSI shares. Citigroup dropped their price objective on MKS from $430.00 to $350.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on MKS from $365.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on MKS from $345.00 to $330.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 26th. Wall Street Zen raised MKS from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reduced their price target on shares of MKS from $390.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 5th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other MKS news, Director Elizabeth Mora sold 300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.96, for a total value of $75,288.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 18,845 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,729,341.20. This trade represents a 1.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.57% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MKS

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new position in MKS during the 3rd quarter worth $2,019,000. Jump Financial LLC lifted its holdings in MKS by 1,792.4% during the third quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 213,144 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $56,560,000 after buying an additional 201,881 shares during the period. First National Bank of Omaha boosted its position in MKS by 1.1% during the third quarter. First National Bank of Omaha now owns 10,764 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $2,856,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. FORA Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MKS during the third quarter valued at about $5,197,000. Finally, Pathstone Holdings LLC boosted its holdings in shares of MKS by 11.7% in the 3rd quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 31,349 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $8,319,000 after buying an additional 3,278 shares in 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 $5.85 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $215.65. The stock had a trading volume of 1,314,656 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,621,678. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $236.72 and a 200-day moving average of $276.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 1.19. The company has a market capitalization of $14.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.39 and a beta of 2.14. MKS has a 12-month low of $134.74 and a 12-month high of $447.62.

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $4.18 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.63 by $0.55. MKS had a net margin of 12.64% and a return on equity of 28.77%. The company had revenue of $1.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.36 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.93 EPS. MKS’s revenue for the quarter was up 43.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that MKS will post 14.46 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MKS announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, November 4th that authorizes the company to buy back $500 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the scientific and technical instruments company to purchase up to 3.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

MKS Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 7th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 25th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 25th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. MKS’s payout ratio is currently 11.86%.

MKS Company Profile

MKS Inc. develops technologies used to manufacture semiconductor devices and other advanced products. Its offerings include instruments, components, subsystems and systems that measure and control pressure, gas flow, gas composition, power and other process conditions. The company also provides laser and photonics technologies, motion-control solutions, and specialty chemicals and plating equipment. These products support semiconductor fabrication and packaging, electronics manufacturing, life sciences and a range of industrial applications.