Corient Private Wealth LLC Sells 8,672 Shares of MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI)

Corient Private Wealth LLC cut its holdings in MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI - Free Report) by 16.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 45,285 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after selling 8,672 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC owned 0.07% of MKS Instruments worth $4,727,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in MKSI. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its position in MKS Instruments by 68.6% in the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 263 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of MKS Instruments in the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in MKS Instruments by 58.0% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 433 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in MKS Instruments by 424.1% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 414 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 335 shares during the period. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in MKS Instruments in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $50,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.79% of the company's stock.

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Insider Activity at MKS Instruments

In other news, 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 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 $1,607,324.64. The trade was a 1.56 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Gerard G. Colella sold 8,000 shares of the company's 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 approximately $6,273,577.01. This represents a 11.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MKSI has been the topic of several recent research reports. Needham & Company LLC decreased their price objective on MKS Instruments from $156.00 to $145.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. Benchmark lowered their price target on shares of MKS Instruments from $142.00 to $135.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of MKS Instruments from $150.00 to $147.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Citigroup upgraded shares of 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. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of MKS Instruments from $128.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $140.08.

MKS Instruments Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MKSI traded down $1.24 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $90.21. The company's stock had a trading volume of 524,523 shares, compared to its average volume of 891,648. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $101.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $105.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.93, a current ratio of 3.19 and a quick ratio of 2.04. MKS Instruments, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $76.37 and a fifty-two week high of $147.40. The company has a market capitalization of $6.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.75.

MKS Instruments (NASDAQ:MKSI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that MKS Instruments, Inc. will post 6.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MKS Instruments Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th were paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.98%. MKS Instruments's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.43%.

About MKS Instruments

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.