K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc Acquires Shares of 3,000 MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI)

K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc bought a new position in shares of MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 3,000 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, valued at approximately $309,000.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Yousif Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of MKS Instruments by 0.7% during the fourth quarter. Yousif Capital Management LLC now owns 29,837 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $3,069,000 after purchasing an additional 197 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new stake in MKS Instruments in the 4th quarter valued at $35,000. Cetera Trust Company N.A acquired a new position in MKS Instruments in the 4th quarter valued at $193,000. Cooke & Bieler LP increased its position in MKS Instruments by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 1,157,767 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $119,099,000 after buying an additional 27,635 shares during the period. Finally, Avior Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MKS Instruments during the fourth quarter worth $138,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.79% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at MKS Instruments

In other MKS Instruments news, Director Gerard G. Colella sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total transaction of $1,200,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 68,017 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,162,040. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director Gerard G. Colella sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total transaction of $1,200,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 68,017 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,162,040. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Jacqueline F. Moloney sold 250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $122.89, for a total value of $30,722.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 9,161 shares in the company, valued at $1,125,795.29. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 50,776 shares of company stock worth $6,226,307 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

MKS Instruments Price Performance

MKSI stock traded up $4.48 during trading on Friday, reaching $120.75. 480,722 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 586,261. MKS Instruments, Inc. has a twelve month low of $63.44 and a twelve month high of $135.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 3.18 and a quick ratio of 2.01. The company has a market capitalization of $8.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.38, a P/E/G ratio of 3.82 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a 50-day moving average of $123.69 and a two-hundred day moving average of $102.59.

MKS Instruments (NASDAQ:MKSI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.17 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.28. MKS Instruments had a positive return on equity of 9.95% and a negative net margin of 50.80%. The firm had revenue of $893.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $845.25 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.00 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that MKS Instruments, Inc. will post 4.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MKS Instruments Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 8th. Investors of record on Monday, February 26th were paid a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.73%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 23rd. MKS Instruments’s dividend payout ratio is currently -3.19%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on MKSI shares. Benchmark upped their price target on shares of MKS Instruments from $85.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. KeyCorp increased their target price on shares of MKS Instruments from $115.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of MKS Instruments from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on MKS Instruments from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company 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 report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, MKS Instruments presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $128.75.

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.