Hilton Capital Management LLC Acquires New Position in MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI)

Hilton Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 17,039 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock, valued at approximately $1,852,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Commerce Bank boosted its position in shares of MKS Instruments by 18.8% during the 3rd quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 34,189 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $3,717,000 after purchasing an additional 5,413 shares in the last quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MKS Instruments in the 3rd quarter valued at about $11,053,000. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its position in shares of MKS Instruments by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 8,729 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $949,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. Phocas Financial Corp. bought a new position in MKS Instruments during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $3,502,000. Finally, Quest Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of MKS Instruments in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $541,000. 99.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at MKS Instruments

In related news, Director Elizabeth Mora sold 275 shares of MKS Instruments stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.97, for a total transaction of $31,891.75. Following the transaction, the director now owns 17,934 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,079,805.98. The trade was a 1.51 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Jacqueline F. Moloney sold 250 shares of MKS Instruments stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.90, for a total transaction of $27,225.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 10,283 shares in the company, valued at $1,119,818.70. The trade was a 2.37 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.51% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on MKSI. Mizuho upgraded MKS Instruments to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Citigroup cut MKS Instruments from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $145.00 to $120.00 in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Benchmark reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $142.00 target price on shares of MKS Instruments in a report on Monday. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on MKS Instruments in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $140.00 target price for the company. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on MKS Instruments in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $129.00 target price for the company. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven 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 a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $141.09.

MKS Instruments Stock Down 0.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:MKSI traded down $0.03 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $108.35. The company's stock had a trading volume of 628,532 shares, compared to its average volume of 827,248. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $106.92 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $118.67. The company has a market capitalization of $7.29 billion, a PE ratio of 240.84, a P/E/G ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98, a quick ratio of 2.21 and a current ratio of 3.42. MKS Instruments, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $75.58 and a fifty-two week high of $147.40.

MKS Instruments (NASDAQ:MKSI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.72 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.45 by $0.27. MKS Instruments had a net margin of 0.90% and a return on equity of 15.79%. The firm had revenue of $896.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $874.29 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.46 earnings per share. MKS Instruments's quarterly revenue was down 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that MKS Instruments, Inc. will post 6.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MKS Instruments Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Monday, November 25th will be given a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 25th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.81%. MKS Instruments's payout ratio is currently 195.56%.

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.