KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Buys New Shares in MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new position in shares of MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 13,800 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock, valued at approximately $1,441,000.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its holdings in MKS Instruments by 68.6% during the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 263 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MKS Instruments in the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of MKS Instruments in the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in shares of MKS Instruments by 58.0% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 433 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 159 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its holdings in MKS Instruments by 424.1% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 414 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 335 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.79% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at MKS Instruments

In other news, Director Gerard G. Colella sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.53, for a total transaction 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. This represents a 11.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Elizabeth Mora sold 275 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were 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 $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 insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on MKSI shares. Citigroup raised shares of MKS Instruments from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $130.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of MKS Instruments in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $145.00 price objective for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $140.00 price objective on shares of MKS Instruments in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on 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, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on MKS Instruments from $128.00 to $129.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, MKS Instruments has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $140.08.

MKS Instruments Trading Down 20.9 %

Shares of MKSI stock traded down $17.01 on Thursday, reaching $64.27. The company had a trading volume of 3,264,243 shares, compared to its average volume of 931,926. The stock has a market cap of $4.33 billion, a PE ratio of 22.95, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.75. The company has a 50-day moving average of $95.78 and a 200-day moving average of $104.58. The company has a current ratio of 3.19, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.93. MKS Instruments, Inc. has a 12 month low of $64.03 and a 12 month high of $147.40.

MKS Instruments (NASDAQ:MKSI - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $2.15 EPS 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 analysts forecast that MKS Instruments, Inc. will post 6.94 earnings per share for the current year.

MKS Instruments Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th were issued a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.37%. MKS Instruments's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.43%.

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.