Key Points
- MKS EVP John Edward Williams sold 457 shares at an average price of $288.31, generating $131,757.67. The Rule 10b5-1 transaction reduced his ownership by 10.03%, leaving him with 4,098 shares.
- MKS reported quarterly EPS of $2.30, exceeding the $2.00 analyst consensus, while revenue rose 15.2% year over year to $1.08 billion.
- Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a $383.57 price target. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share, equivalent to a 0.3% yield.
MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI - Get Free Report) EVP John Edward Williams sold 457 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.31, for a total transaction of $131,757.67. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 4,098 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,181,494.38. This trade represents a 10.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.
MKS Price Performance
Shares of MKSI stock opened at $320.76 on Wednesday. MKS Inc. has a 12-month low of $88.49 and a 12-month high of $447.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 67.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 1.98. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $349.12 and a 200-day moving average of $287.62.
MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $2.30 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.00 by $0.30. The business had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.05 billion. MKS had a net margin of 8.06% and a return on equity of 21.49%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.71 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that MKS Inc. will post 11.81 earnings per share for the current year.
MKS Dividend Announcement
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 25th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 25th. MKS's payout ratio is presently 20.92%.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
A number of research firms have recently commented on MKSI. Wall Street Zen lowered MKS from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 23rd. Citigroup boosted their price objective on MKS from $355.00 to $425.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $600.00 target price on shares of MKS in a research note on Monday. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of MKS from $400.00 to $415.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "sell" rating and issued a $265.00 price target on shares of MKS in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $383.57.
Read Our Latest Research Report on MKSI
Institutional Trading of MKS
Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of MKS by 560.0% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 165 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc grew its holdings in shares of MKS by 616.7% during the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 172 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Allied Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in MKS in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Danske Bank A S acquired a new stake in MKS in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in MKS by 47.5% in the 2nd quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.79% of the company's stock.
About MKS
(
Get Free Report)
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.
See Also
This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from InsiderTrades.com in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. Please send any questions or comments about this story to [email protected].
