MKS Inc. $MKSI Shares Newly Purchased by CenterBook Partners LP

CenterBook Partners LP bought a new position in shares of MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm bought 22,958 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,092,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Spyglass Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in MKS in the 2nd quarter valued at $52,720,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new stake in shares of MKS during the 2nd quarter worth $231,673,000. Dorsey Wright & Associates acquired a new stake in shares of MKS during the 1st quarter worth $1,329,000. Tidal Investments LLC increased its position in shares of MKS by 42.2% in the second quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 44,846 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $19,948,000 after purchasing an additional 13,299 shares during the period. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp increased its position in shares of MKS by 3,011.9% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 19,294 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $4,434,000 after purchasing an additional 18,674 shares during the period. 99.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings cut shares of MKS from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Monday, September 28th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of MKS from $285.00 to $195.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Needham & Company LLC decreased their target price on shares of MKS from $390.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of MKS from $365.00 to $380.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target on shares of MKS from $430.00 to $350.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $366.77.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO John Tseng-Chung Lee sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $302.01, for a total transaction of $3,020,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 134,776 shares in the company, valued at $40,703,699.76. This represents a 6.91% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Elizabeth Mora sold 300 shares of the 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 directly owned 18,845 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,729,341.20. The trade was a 1.57% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. 0.57% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

MKS Price Performance

NASDAQ:MKSI traded up $15.45 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $192.27. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,616,226 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,346,953. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $240.14 and a 200-day simple moving average of $277.02. The company has a market capitalization of $13.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.81, a PEG ratio of 0.41 and a beta of 2.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 0.72. MKS Inc. has a twelve month low of $134.74 and a twelve month high of $447.62.

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $4.18 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.63 by $0.55. The firm had revenue of $1.41 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.36 billion. MKS had a return on equity of 24.72% and a net margin of 10.15%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 43.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.93 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that MKS Inc. will post 13.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MKS Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 7th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 25th will be issued 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 11.86%.

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

MKS News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting MKS this week:

• Positive Sentiment: MKS beat third-quarter estimates, reporting adjusted EPS of $4.18 versus roughly $3.63 expected. Revenue rose 43% year over year, supported by strong semiconductor demand. Zacks Q3 earnings report
• Positive Sentiment: Management pointed to AI-fueled demand, capacity expansion and improving margins, and forecast fourth-quarter adjusted EPS of $4.62–$5.38—signaling potential for continued growth. Zacks earnings-call highlights
• Positive Sentiment: The company authorized a $500 million share repurchase program, which may support demand for the stock and signals the board’s willingness to return capital to shareholders. $500 million buyback announcement
• Negative Sentiment: Several firms cut their price targets, tempering the positive earnings news. Deutsche Bank lowered its target to $240 from $385 but maintained Buy; Citigroup cut to $350 from $430 and also kept Buy. Wells Fargo reduced its target to $195 from $285 and maintained Equal Weight. Deutsche Bank target update Citigroup target update Wells Fargo target update

About MKS

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.