MKS Instruments (NASDAQ:MKSI) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results

MKS Instruments (NASDAQ:MKSI) released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.43, Briefing.com reports. MKS Instruments had a positive return on equity of 9.95% and a negative net margin of 50.80%. The business had revenue of $868.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $848.94 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.48 EPS. MKS Instruments’s quarterly revenue was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. MKS Instruments updated its Q2 guidance to $0.67-1.19 EPS and its Q2 2024 guidance to 0.670-1.190 EPS.

MKS Instruments Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MKSI traded up $1.37 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $128.99. 88,584 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 629,010. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 2.01 and a current ratio of 3.18. MKS Instruments has a 52 week low of $63.44 and a 52 week high of $135.51. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $123.83 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $105.21. The company has a market cap of $8.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.01 and a beta of 1.69.

MKS Instruments Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 7th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 28th will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 24th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.68%. MKS Instruments’s payout ratio is -3.19%.

Insider Activity at MKS Instruments

In other MKS Instruments news, CFO Seth H. Bagshaw sold 32,865 shares of MKS Instruments stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.28, for a total value of $4,051,597.20. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 1 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $123.28. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CFO Seth H. Bagshaw sold 32,865 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.28, for a total value of $4,051,597.20. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 1 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $123.28. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Elizabeth Mora sold 250 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.00, for a total transaction of $33,250.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 16,862 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,242,646. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 40,776 shares of company stock valued at $5,026,307. Corporate insiders own 0.51% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Needham & Company LLC lifted their target price on MKS Instruments from $125.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. KeyCorp increased their price objective on MKS Instruments from $115.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on MKS Instruments from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Benchmark increased their price objective on MKS Instruments from $85.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. Finally, TheStreet raised shares of MKS Instruments from a “d+” rating to a “c-” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $133.75.

About MKS Instruments

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.