Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd Purchases 498 Shares of MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI)

Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd lifted its position in MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) by 24,900.0% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 500 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after acquiring an additional 498 shares during the quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd’s holdings in MKS Instruments were worth $52,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its holdings in MKS Instruments by 68.6% in the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 263 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of MKS Instruments in the 4th quarter worth about $36,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in MKS Instruments by 58.0% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 433 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 159 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in MKS Instruments by 424.1% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 414 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 335 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in MKS Instruments in the third quarter worth about $50,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.79% of the company’s stock.

MKS Instruments Price Performance

Shares of MKSI opened at $88.17 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $102.08 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $106.16. The firm has a market cap of $5.94 billion, a PE ratio of 31.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.75. The company has a current ratio of 3.19, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.93. MKS Instruments, Inc. has a 1-year low of $76.37 and a 1-year high of $147.40.

MKS Instruments (NASDAQ:MKSI) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $2.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.92 by $0.23. MKS Instruments had a return on equity of 18.94% and a net margin of 5.30%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that MKS Instruments, Inc. will post 6.94 EPS for the current year.

MKS Instruments Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th were given a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.00%. MKS Instruments’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.43%.

Insider Buying and Selling at MKS Instruments

In other news, Director Gerard G. Colella sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.53, for a total value of $836,240.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 60,017 shares in the company, valued at $6,273,577.01. This represents a 11.76 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Elizabeth Mora sold 275 shares of MKS Instruments stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.46, for a total value of $25,426.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 17,384 shares in the company, valued at $1,607,324.64. This trade represents a 1.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.46% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently commented on MKSI shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on MKS Instruments in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $145.00 price target on the stock. Benchmark cut their target price on MKS Instruments from $142.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price target on MKS Instruments from $156.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $140.00 price objective on shares of MKS Instruments in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of MKS Instruments from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 target price for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, MKS Instruments has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $140.08.

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.