MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.22 EPS

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) issued its earnings results on Tuesday. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $2.47 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.25 by $0.22, Zacks reports. MKS had a net margin of 7.25% and a return on equity of 20.80%.

MKS Stock Up 0.8%

NASDAQ:MKSI traded up $2.20 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $262.94. The company had a trading volume of 3,466,550 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,647,831. MKS has a 12-month low of $54.84 and a 12-month high of $269.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 63.82, a PEG ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 1.95. The company has a current ratio of 2.86, a quick ratio of 1.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $197.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $152.24.

MKS Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 23rd will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 23rd. This is an increase from MKS’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. MKS’s payout ratio is 24.27%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently commented on MKSI shares. Mizuho set a $260.00 price objective on MKS in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Bank of America lifted their target price on MKS from $215.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on MKS from $175.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. TD Cowen raised their price objective on MKS from $200.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of MKS from $187.00 to $258.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $231.50.

Insider Transactions at MKS

In related news, Director Elizabeth Mora sold 300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.81, for a total transaction of $47,643.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 18,963 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,011,514.03. This represents a 1.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.57% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its stake in MKS by 560.0% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 165 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. Danske Bank A S purchased a new position in shares of MKS in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Kestra Advisory Services LLC acquired a new position in MKS in the 4th quarter valued at $41,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its stake in shares of MKS by 55.2% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 256 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares during the period. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in MKS during the 4th quarter worth approximately $47,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.79% of the company’s stock.

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.