Optimum Investment Advisors Acquires 125 Shares of MKS Inc. $MKSI

Optimum Investment Advisors raised its holdings in shares of MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) by 25.0% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 625 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors’ holdings in MKS were worth $62,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MKSI. Bayforest Capital Ltd bought a new stake in MKS during the second quarter valued at about $39,000. Steph & Co. bought a new stake in MKS during the second quarter valued at about $42,000. Brooklyn Investment Group raised its holdings in MKS by 1,168.3% during the first quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group now owns 799 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $64,000 after acquiring an additional 736 shares during the period. Signaturefd LLC raised its holdings in MKS by 79.2% during the first quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 828 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $66,000 after acquiring an additional 366 shares during the period. Finally, eCIO Inc. bought a new stake in MKS during the first quarter valued at about $77,000. 99.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other MKS news, Director Jacqueline F. Moloney sold 300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $122.14, for a total transaction of $36,642.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 11,562 shares in the company, valued at $1,412,182.68. The trade was a 2.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP David Philip Henry sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $130.00, for a total value of $650,000.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 15,571 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,024,230. This trade represents a 24.31% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 5,900 shares of company stock worth $744,227. Corporate insiders own 0.51% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Mizuho raised their price target on MKS from $118.00 to $147.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on MKS from $92.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $151.00 price objective on shares of MKS in a research report on Monday, October 13th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on MKS from $100.00 to $108.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 8th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded MKS from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 20th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, MKS presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $130.70.

MKS Trading Up 1.6%

MKSI opened at $142.94 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $9.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.28, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 1.97. MKS Inc. has a 12 month low of $54.84 and a 12 month high of $146.84. The company has a current ratio of 2.99, a quick ratio of 1.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.71. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $120.56 and a 200 day moving average of $100.28.

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 6th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.77 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $973.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $931.05 million. MKS had a return on equity of 20.65% and a net margin of 7.11%.The firm’s revenue was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.53 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that MKS Inc. will post 6.94 EPS for the current year.

MKS Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 5th. Investors of record on Monday, August 25th were given a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 25th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.6%. MKS’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.34%.

MKS Company Profile

MKS Instruments, Inc provides foundational technology solutions to semiconductor manufacturing, electronics and packaging, and specialty industrial applications in the United States, Germany, China, South Korea, and internationally. It operates through Vacuum Solutions Division (VSD), Photonics Solutions Division (PSD), and Material Solutions Division (MSD) segments.