Machina Capital S.A.S. Acquires 5,747 Shares of MKS Inc. $MKSI

Machina Capital S.A.S. acquired a new stake in MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 5,747 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,525,000.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Spyglass Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in MKS in the 2nd quarter valued at about $52,720,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in MKS in the 2nd quarter valued at about $231,673,000. Dorsey Wright & Associates bought a new position in MKS in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,329,000. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its position in MKS by 42.2% during 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 acquiring an additional 13,299 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its position in MKS by 3,011.9% during 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 acquiring an additional 18,674 shares during the last quarter. 99.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on MKSI shares. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $600.00 price objective on shares of MKS in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Needham & Company LLC lowered their target price on MKS from $390.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, November 5th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on MKS from $285.00 to $195.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 6th. Weiss Ratings cut MKS from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Monday, September 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on MKS from $365.00 to $380.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $366.77.

Insider Activity at MKS

In other news, Director Elizabeth Mora sold 300 shares of MKS stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.96, for a total value of $75,288.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 18,845 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,729,341.20. The trade was a 1.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Corporate insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

MKS Trading Down 2.0%

MKSI stock opened at $221.50 on Friday. MKS Inc. has a 52 week low of $134.74 and a 52 week high of $447.62. The company has a market capitalization of $14.98 billion, a PE ratio of 26.28, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.40 and a beta of 2.14. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $237.40 and its 200 day simple moving average is $276.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 1.19.

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 4th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $4.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.63 by $0.55. The business had revenue of $1.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.36 billion. MKS had a net margin of 12.64% and a return on equity of 28.77%. The business’s revenue was up 43.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.93 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that MKS Inc. will post 14.46 earnings per share for the current year.

MKS Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 7th. Stockholders 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 11.86%.

MKS announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, November 4th that authorizes the company to buy back $500 million in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the scientific and technical instruments company to purchase up to 3.6% of its shares through open market purchases. Share buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

MKS Company Profile

MKS Inc. develops technologies used to manufacture semiconductor devices and other advanced products. Its offerings include instruments, components, subsystems and systems that measure and control pressure, gas flow, gas composition, power and other process conditions. The company also provides laser and photonics technologies, motion-control solutions, and specialty chemicals and plating equipment. These products support semiconductor fabrication and packaging, electronics manufacturing, life sciences and a range of industrial applications.