22,958 Shares of MKS Inc. $MKSI Acquired by CenterBook Partners LP

CenterBook Partners LP acquired a new position in shares of MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 22,958 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,092,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in MKS during the second quarter worth about $231,673,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in MKS by 1,742.1% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 442,273 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $117,362,000 after purchasing an additional 418,264 shares in the last quarter. Madison Asset Management LLC bought a new position in MKS in the second quarter valued at approximately $140,866,000. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of MKS during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $128,303,000. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. acquired a new position in shares of MKS during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $77,043,000. Institutional investors own 99.79% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO John Tseng-Chung Lee sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $302.01, for a total transaction of $3,020,100.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 134,776 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,703,699.76. This trade represents a 6.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Elizabeth Mora sold 300 shares of MKS 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 sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

MKS Stock Performance

Shares of MKSI traded up $15.45 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $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 company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. MKS Inc. has a 1-year low of $134.74 and a 1-year high of $447.62. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $240.14 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $277.02. The stock has a market cap of $13.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.81, 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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.63 by $0.55. MKS had a return on equity of 24.72% and a net margin of 10.15%. The business had revenue of $1.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.36 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.93 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 43.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that MKS Inc. will post 13.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MKS declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program 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 purchase up to 3.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

MKS Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, December 7th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 25th will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 25th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. MKS’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 11.86%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on MKSI. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on MKS from $285.00 to $195.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of MKS from $365.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of MKS from $430.00 to $350.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Needham & Company LLC cut their price target on shares of MKS from $390.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $360.00 price objective on shares of MKS in a research report on Friday, July 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $366.77.

More MKS News

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

MKS Company Profile

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.