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

Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) by 1.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 7,445,956 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after purchasing an additional 97,392 shares during the quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. owned about 11.06% of MKS Instruments worth $777,283,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. LPL Financial LLC grew its holdings in MKS Instruments by 8.6% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 25,145 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $2,625,000 after buying an additional 1,992 shares during the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new stake in shares of MKS Instruments in the fourth quarter worth $1,441,000. Sei Investments Co. grew its stake in shares of MKS Instruments by 32.1% in the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 151,025 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $15,766,000 after acquiring an additional 36,721 shares during the last quarter. Summit Global Investments bought a new position in MKS Instruments during the fourth quarter worth $1,254,000. Finally, TD Private Client Wealth LLC acquired a new position in MKS Instruments during the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. 99.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently issued reports on MKSI. Citigroup upgraded shares of MKS Instruments from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Benchmark cut their price target on MKS Instruments from $142.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on MKS Instruments in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $145.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on MKS Instruments from $150.00 to $147.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $140.00 target price on shares of MKS Instruments in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Three 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 company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, MKS Instruments currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $140.08.

MKS Instruments Stock Down 3.8 %

MKSI opened at $81.59 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $5.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.14, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.93, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a current ratio of 3.19. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $99.35 and its 200-day simple moving average is $105.49. MKS Instruments, Inc. has a twelve month low of $76.37 and a twelve month high of $147.40.

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

MKS Instruments Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other MKS Instruments news, Director Gerard G. Colella sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.53, for a total transaction of $836,240.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 60,017 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,273,577.01. This represents a 11.76 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Elizabeth Mora sold 275 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was 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 approximately $1,607,324.64. This 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 currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.