MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) Declares $0.22 Quarterly Dividend

MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, May 8th, Zacks reports. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 28th will be given a dividend of 0.22 per share by the scientific and technical instruments company on Friday, June 7th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 24th.

MKS Instruments has raised its dividend payment by an average of 3.2% annually over the last three years. MKS Instruments has a dividend payout ratio of 12.4% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect MKS Instruments to earn $6.52 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.88 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 13.5%.

MKS Instruments Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of MKSI stock opened at $131.83 on Wednesday. MKS Instruments has a fifty-two week low of $63.44 and a fifty-two week high of $135.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.84 billion, a P/E ratio of -4.94, a PEG ratio of 4.41 and a beta of 1.69. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $123.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $109.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94, a quick ratio of 2.34 and a current ratio of 3.69.

MKS Instruments (NASDAQ:MKSI) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.43. MKS Instruments had a positive return on equity of 13.90% and a negative net margin of 48.24%. The company had revenue of $868.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $848.94 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.48 EPS. MKS Instruments’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that MKS Instruments will post 4.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MKSI has been the subject of several research analyst reports. KeyCorp upped their target price on shares of MKS Instruments from $115.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. Needham & Company LLC upped their price objective on shares of MKS Instruments from $145.00 to $153.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. StockNews.com raised MKS Instruments from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on MKS Instruments from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, TheStreet raised MKS Instruments from a “d+” rating to a “c-” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $138.75.

Insider Transactions at MKS Instruments

In other MKS Instruments news, CFO Seth H. Bagshaw sold 32,865 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.28, for a total transaction of $4,051,597.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 1 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $123.28. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Jacqueline F. Moloney sold 250 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $122.89, for a total transaction of $30,722.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 9,161 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,125,795.29. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Seth H. Bagshaw sold 32,865 shares of MKS Instruments stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 1 shares in the company, valued at $123.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 40,776 shares of company stock worth $5,026,307. Company insiders own 0.51% of the company’s stock.

MKS Instruments 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.