MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) Increases Dividend to $0.25 Per Share

MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, February 10th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 23rd will be paid a dividend of 0.25 per share by the scientific and technical instruments company on Friday, March 6th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 23rd. This is a 13.6% increase from MKS’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22.

MKS has raised its dividend payment by an average of 0.0%per year over the last three years. MKS has a payout ratio of 10.8% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect MKS to earn $8.61 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.88 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 10.2%.

MKS Stock Up 0.8%

Shares of MKSI opened at $252.52 on Wednesday. MKS has a 52-week low of $54.84 and a 52-week high of $259.70. The company has a quick ratio of 1.81, a current ratio of 2.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $190.01 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $147.79. The company has a market capitalization of $16.96 billion, a PE ratio of 61.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.94.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MKSI has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of MKS in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Bank of America upped their price target on MKS from $215.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Zacks Research raised shares of MKS from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on MKS from $187.00 to $258.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on MKS from $122.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 12th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $231.50.

MKS Company Profile

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.