Vanguard Group Inc. Has $777.28 Million Stake in MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI)

Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) by 1.3% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 7,445,956 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after acquiring an additional 97,392 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned 0.11% of MKS Instruments worth $777,283,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its stake in shares of MKS Instruments by 68.6% in the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 263 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the period. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in MKS Instruments in the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC acquired a new position in MKS Instruments in the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in MKS Instruments by 58.0% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 433 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 159 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. boosted its holdings 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 buying an additional 335 shares during the last quarter. 99.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MKSI. Needham & Company LLC cut their price target on shares of MKS Instruments from $156.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of MKS Instruments from $150.00 to $147.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of MKS Instruments from $128.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Benchmark lowered their price objective on shares of MKS Instruments from $142.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on MKS Instruments in a report on Friday, December 13th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $145.00 target price on the stock. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, MKS Instruments currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $140.08.

Insider Activity

In other MKS Instruments news, Director Elizabeth Mora sold 275 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.46, for a total value of $25,426.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Gerard G. Colella sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director now owns 60,017 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,273,577.01. This represents a 11.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.46% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

MKS Instruments Stock Down 3.8 %

MKSI stock opened at $81.59 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.93, a current ratio of 3.19 and a quick ratio of 2.04. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.14, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.75. MKS Instruments, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $76.37 and a fifty-two week high of $147.40. The business has a 50-day moving average of $99.35 and a 200-day moving average of $105.49.

MKS Instruments (NASDAQ:MKSI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $2.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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, sell-side analysts anticipate that MKS Instruments, Inc. will post 6.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MKS Instruments Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th were paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.08%. MKS Instruments’s dividend payout ratio is 31.43%.

MKS Instruments 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.