J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. Takes Position in MKS Inc. $MKSI

J.W. Cole Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 4,679 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, valued at approximately $579,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MKSI. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. purchased a new stake in MKS in the third quarter worth $30,000. Winnow Wealth LLC purchased a new position in MKS in the 3rd quarter worth about $38,000. Bayforest Capital Ltd purchased a new position in MKS in the 2nd quarter worth about $39,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC purchased a new stake in MKS in the 3rd quarter valued at about $49,000. Finally, Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp purchased a new stake in MKS in the 2nd quarter valued at about $46,000. Institutional investors own 99.79% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MKSI has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on MKS from $175.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. 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. Mizuho set a $260.00 price target on MKS in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price target on MKS from $200.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC upped their price objective on shares of MKS from $210.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $231.50.

MKS Trading Up 0.8%

MKSI opened at $252.52 on Wednesday. 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 firm has a market cap of $16.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 61.29, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.94. MKS Inc. has a 12 month low of $54.84 and a 12 month high of $259.70. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $190.01 and a 200-day moving average price of $147.79.

MKS Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 23rd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. This is a boost from MKS’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. MKS’s payout ratio is presently 21.36%.

Insider Transactions at MKS

In other news, Director Elizabeth Mora sold 300 shares of MKS stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the director directly owned 18,963 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,011,514.03. The trade was a 1.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.51% of the company’s stock.

About MKS

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.