MKS Inc. (MKSI) To Go Ex-Dividend on November 25th

MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, November 4th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 25th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share by the scientific and technical instruments company on Monday, December 7th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 25th.

MKS has a payout ratio of 12.3% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect MKS to earn $17.49 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.00 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 5.7%.

MKS Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MKSI opened at $176.82 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. The business’s 50 day moving average is $241.71 and its 200-day moving average is $277.11. MKS has a 1-year low of $134.74 and a 1-year high of $447.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.96 billion, a PE ratio of 20.98, a PEG ratio of 0.41 and a beta of 2.14.

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 4th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $4.18 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.63 by $0.55. MKS had a net margin of 12.64% and a return on equity of 29.90%. The business had revenue of $1.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.36 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.93 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 43.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that MKS will post 13.14 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Institutional Trading of MKS

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Andar Capital Management HK Ltd bought a new position in shares of MKS during the third quarter valued at $3,715,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of MKS by 260.1% in the third quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 1,361 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $361,000 after buying an additional 983 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its position in shares of MKS by 6.4% during the third quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 21,169 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $5,617,000 after purchasing an additional 1,266 shares in the last quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System increased its holdings in MKS by 22.9% during the third quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 4,288 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $1,138,000 after buying an additional 800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Machina Capital S.A.S. bought a new stake in shares of MKS in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,525,000. 99.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.