Fifth Third Bancorp Grows Holdings in MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI)

Fifth Third Bancorp raised its position in MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) by 11.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,408 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after buying an additional 439 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp’s holdings in MKS were worth $353,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Prudential Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of MKS by 772.7% during the fourth quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 61,447 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $6,481,000 after purchasing an additional 54,406 shares in the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group purchased a new stake in shares of MKS during the fourth quarter worth about $1,480,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of MKS during the fourth quarter worth about $85,451,000. Summit Global Investments purchased a new stake in shares of MKS during the fourth quarter worth about $1,254,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of MKS by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,291,478 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $239,207,000 after purchasing an additional 6,715 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.79% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MKSI. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price target on shares of MKS from $145.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of MKS from $93.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of MKS from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $132.64.

MKS Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MKSI opened at $92.17 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87, a current ratio of 3.11 and a quick ratio of 1.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 27.51, a PEG ratio of 1.04 and a beta of 1.84. The company’s 50-day moving average is $80.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $93.48. MKS Inc. has a 1-year low of $54.84 and a 1-year high of $147.40.

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.71 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.42 by $0.29. MKS had a net margin of 6.21% and a return on equity of 20.67%. The firm had revenue of $936.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $913.59 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.18 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that MKS Inc. will post 6.94 EPS for the current year.

MKS Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 27th were paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 27th. MKS’s payout ratio is currently 26.27%.

MKS 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.