MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB Buys 608 Shares of MKS Inc. $MKSI

MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its stake in shares of MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) by 265.5% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 837 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after acquiring an additional 608 shares during the quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB’s holdings in MKS were worth $83,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Teacher Retirement System of Texas bought a new position in MKS during the first quarter worth $789,000. Artemis Investment Management LLP boosted its stake in MKS by 2.2% during the first quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 251,799 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $20,182,000 after acquiring an additional 5,422 shares in the last quarter. M&T Bank Corp boosted its stake in MKS by 15.5% during the first quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 18,884 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $1,513,000 after acquiring an additional 2,530 shares in the last quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in MKS by 16.2% during the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 110,765 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $8,878,000 after acquiring an additional 15,482 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its stake in shares of MKS by 33.7% in the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 11,973 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $960,000 after buying an additional 3,021 shares in the last quarter. 99.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at MKS

In related news, EVP David Philip Henry sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.00, for a total transaction of $650,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 15,571 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,024,230. The trade was a 24.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Jacqueline F. Moloney sold 300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.10, for a total transaction of $27,630.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 11,862 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,092,490.20. This represents a 2.47% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 7,600 shares of company stock valued at $917,585. Corporate insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen raised shares of MKS from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of MKS from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of MKS in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. They issued a “sell” rating and a $90.00 price objective on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of MKS in a research note on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of MKS from $105.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $119.80.

MKS Price Performance

MKSI opened at $128.62 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $8.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.64, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 1.94. The company has a quick ratio of 1.88, a current ratio of 2.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $104.38 and a 200-day moving average price of $91.02. MKS Inc. has a twelve month low of $54.84 and a twelve month high of $132.44.

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.77 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $973.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $931.05 million. MKS had a net margin of 7.11% and a return on equity of 20.65%. The company’s revenue was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.53 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that MKS Inc. will post 6.94 EPS for the current year.

MKS Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 5th. Investors of record on Monday, August 25th were paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 25th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. MKS’s payout ratio is currently 22.34%.

About MKS

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.