Madison Investment Advisors LLC Acquires New Position in MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI)

Madison Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 933,936 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, valued at approximately $97,494,000. MKS Instruments comprises 1.1% of Madison Investment Advisors LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest position.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of MKS Instruments by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,088,283 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $322,386,000 after purchasing an additional 35,256 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in shares of MKS Instruments by 10.4% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,525,037 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $265,874,000 after buying an additional 237,979 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its stake in shares of MKS Instruments by 3.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,954,881 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $212,515,000 after acquiring an additional 65,200 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in MKS Instruments by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,172,517 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $127,496,000 after buying an additional 51,519 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its position in MKS Instruments by 108.6% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,019,134 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $110,789,000 after purchasing an additional 530,620 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.79% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at MKS Instruments

In other MKS Instruments news, Director Gerard G. Colella sold 8,000 shares of MKS Instruments stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.53, for a total transaction of $836,240.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 60,017 shares in the company, valued at $6,273,577.01. The trade was a 11.76 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Elizabeth Mora sold 275 shares of MKS Instruments stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.46, for a total transaction of $25,426.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 17,384 shares of the company’s stock, 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. 0.51% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on MKSI. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on MKS Instruments from $150.00 to $147.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $140.00 target price on shares of MKS Instruments in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Benchmark dropped their price target 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of MKS Instruments in a report on Friday, December 13th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $145.00 target price for the company. Finally, Citigroup raised shares of MKS Instruments from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, MKS Instruments currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $140.08.

MKS Instruments Trading Up 2.7 %

MKSI opened at $81.02 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $5.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.94, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.76. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $105.26 and a 200-day moving average price of $107.58. 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 12 month low of $76.37 and a 12 month high of $147.40.

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

MKS Instruments Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th were given a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.09%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. MKS Instruments’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.43%.

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.