Bank of New York Mellon Corp Sells 113,072 Shares of MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI)

Bank of New York Mellon Corp cut its stake in MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI - Free Report) by 15.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 611,690 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after selling 113,072 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp owned 0.91% of MKS Instruments worth $63,854,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Barclays PLC raised its position in MKS Instruments by 108.6% in the 3rd 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 last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in shares of MKS Instruments by 3,444.0% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 300,711 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $31,391,000 after buying an additional 292,226 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in shares of MKS Instruments by 10.4% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,525,037 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $265,874,000 after acquiring an additional 237,979 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. raised its position in shares of MKS Instruments by 1,308.1% during the third quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 172,382 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $18,740,000 after acquiring an additional 160,140 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of MKS Instruments during the fourth quarter valued at $12,058,000. 99.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Remove Ads

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts 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 objective for the company. Benchmark lowered their price target 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. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $140.00 price objective on shares of MKS Instruments in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of MKS Instruments from $150.00 to $147.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Citigroup upgraded MKS Instruments from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $130.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, MKS Instruments presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $140.08.

MKS Instruments Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of MKSI traded up $1.23 on Friday, hitting $83.75. The company's stock had a trading volume of 493,597 shares, compared to its average volume of 987,095. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $107.65 and its 200-day moving average price is $108.92. MKS Instruments, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $80.36 and a fifty-two week high of $147.40. The company has a quick ratio of 2.04, a current ratio of 3.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.66.

MKS Instruments (NASDAQ:MKSI - Get Free Report) 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, beating 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%. On average, equities research analysts expect that MKS Instruments, Inc. will post 6.94 EPS for the current year.

MKS Instruments Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th will be issued a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 24th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.05%. MKS Instruments's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.43%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Elizabeth Mora sold 275 shares of the firm's 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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 17,384 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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 accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gerard G. Colella sold 8,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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. This trade represents a 11.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 8,575 shares of company stock worth $896,107 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

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.