MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) Shares Sold by Fmr LLC

FMR LLC trimmed its position in MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI - Free Report) by 2.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,221,270 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after selling 89,628 shares during the period. FMR LLC owned approximately 6.27% of MKS Instruments worth $440,658,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its holdings in MKS Instruments by 136.1% in the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 30,250 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $3,158,000 after acquiring an additional 17,438 shares during the period. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of MKS Instruments in the fourth quarter valued at about $89,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in MKS Instruments by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 95,283 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $9,947,000 after acquiring an additional 3,274 shares during the last quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its stake in MKS Instruments by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 374,782 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $39,123,000 after buying an additional 2,198 shares during the period. Finally, Bryce Point Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of MKS Instruments during the 4th quarter worth approximately $523,000. 99.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on MKSI. Benchmark dropped their price objective on shares of MKS Instruments from $142.00 to $135.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $140.00 price target on shares of MKS Instruments in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Needham & Company LLC lowered their target price on MKS Instruments from $156.00 to $145.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on MKS Instruments from $150.00 to $147.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Citigroup raised MKS Instruments from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $130.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, MKS Instruments has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $140.08.

MKS Instruments Stock Performance

MKSI traded down $1.23 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $67.25. The company had a trading volume of 412,439 shares, compared to its average volume of 993,193. The stock has a market cap of $4.54 billion, a PE ratio of 24.14, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.81. MKS Instruments, Inc. has a 12-month low of $54.84 and a 12-month high of $147.40. 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 business has a 50-day moving average price of $87.44 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $101.71.

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, 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%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that MKS Instruments, Inc. will post 6.94 earnings per share 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 given a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.31%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. MKS Instruments's dividend payout ratio is presently 31.43%.

Insider Buying and Selling at MKS Instruments

In other news, Director Elizabeth Mora sold 275 shares of MKS Instruments stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the director now directly owns 17,384 shares in the company, 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 can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Gerard G. Colella sold 8,000 shares of MKS Instruments stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.53, for a total value of $836,240.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 60,017 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,273,577.01. The trade was a 11.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.46% of the stock is owned by company 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.