Artemis Investment Management LLP Buys 46,859 Shares of MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI)

Artemis Investment Management LLP lifted its position in MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI - Free Report) by 23.5% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 246,377 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after purchasing an additional 46,859 shares during the period. Artemis Investment Management LLP owned about 0.37% of MKS Instruments worth $25,719,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Aigen Investment Management LP lifted its holdings in MKS Instruments by 705.3% in the 3rd quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP now owns 12,547 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $1,364,000 after buying an additional 10,989 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in MKS Instruments in the second quarter worth $1,599,000. Citigroup Inc. boosted its holdings in MKS Instruments by 7.3% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 444,333 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $48,303,000 after acquiring an additional 30,216 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in MKS Instruments by 10.4% during the 4th 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 purchasing an additional 237,979 shares during the period. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its holdings in MKS Instruments by 3,928.7% in the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 76,828 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $10,110,000 after purchasing an additional 74,921 shares in the last quarter. 99.79% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of MKS Instruments in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $145.00 price target for the company. Citigroup raised MKS Instruments from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $130.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on MKS Instruments from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $156.00 price target on shares of MKS Instruments in a research note on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on MKS Instruments from $143.00 to $128.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Four 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 company. According to MarketBeat, MKS Instruments presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $141.75.

Insider Transactions at MKS Instruments

In related news, Director Elizabeth Mora sold 275 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.41, for a total transaction of $31,187.75. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 17,659 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,002,707.19. This represents a 1.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Jacqueline F. Moloney sold 300 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $114.80, for a total value of $34,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 9,983 shares in the company, valued at $1,146,048.40. The trade was a 2.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.51% of the company's stock.

MKS Instruments Stock Up 2.5 %

Shares of MKSI traded up $2.88 on Monday, hitting $120.11. 1,154,060 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 634,084. The company has a market capitalization of $8.08 billion, a PE ratio of 266.91, a P/E/G ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 1.66. MKS Instruments, Inc. has a one year low of $97.54 and a one year high of $147.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98, a quick ratio of 2.21 and a current ratio of 3.42. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $110.92 and a 200 day simple moving average of $112.94.

MKS Instruments (NASDAQ:MKSI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.72 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.45 by $0.27. MKS Instruments had a return on equity of 15.79% and a net margin of 0.90%. The firm had revenue of $896.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $874.29 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.46 earnings per share. The company's revenue was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that MKS Instruments, Inc. will post 6.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MKS Instruments Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 25th were issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.73%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 25th. MKS Instruments's payout ratio is presently 195.56%.

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.