MKS Inc. $MKSI Stock: TT International Asset Management LTD Raises Position

TT International Asset Management LTD lifted its stake in shares of MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) by 267.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,961 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,612 shares during the period. MKS accounts for approximately 0.1% of TT International Asset Management LTD’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest holding. TT International Asset Management LTD’s holdings in MKS were worth $1,316,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in MKSI. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC raised 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 purchasing an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of MKS by 4.8% during the 2nd quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC now owns 917 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $408,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Keating Financial Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of MKS during the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. North Dakota State Investment Board boosted its stake in shares of MKS by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. North Dakota State Investment Board now owns 2,054 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $545,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of MKS by 2.9% during the second quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,252 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $1,002,000 after buying an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.79% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at MKS

In related news, Director Elizabeth Mora sold 300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.96, for a total transaction of $75,288.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 18,845 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,729,341.20. This represents a 1.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO John Tseng-Chung Lee sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $302.01, for a total transaction of $3,020,100.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 134,776 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,703,699.76. This represents a 6.91% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on MKSI. Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of MKS from $360.00 to $330.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 25th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $360.00 price objective on shares of MKS in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $600.00 target price on shares of MKS in a research report on Monday, August 3rd. Needham & Company LLC raised their target price on shares of MKS from $360.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of MKS from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday, September 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $374.86.

MKS Stock Performance

NASDAQ MKSI opened at $205.18 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $245.12 and its 200 day moving average price is $277.30. MKS Inc. has a twelve month low of $134.74 and a twelve month high of $447.62. The company has a market capitalization of $13.87 billion, a PE ratio of 32.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.41 and a beta of 2.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85.

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $3.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.91 by $0.39. The firm had revenue of $1.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.20 billion. MKS had a return on equity of 24.72% and a net margin of 10.15%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 28.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.77 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that MKS Inc. will post 13.14 earnings per share for the current year.

MKS Company Profile

MKS Instruments, Inc (NASDAQ: MKSI) develops technologies that enable precision control and measurement in manufacturing and research environments. The company provides instruments, components, systems and process-control solutions used to measure and control pressure, flow, vacuum, gas delivery, temperature and other critical production conditions.

Its product portfolio includes vacuum solutions, pressure and flow-control instruments, gas and vapor delivery systems, plasma and reactive-gas technologies, power delivery systems, process-monitoring equipment, analytical instruments and materials-characterization tools.