MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) Stock Position Increased by Harvey Partners LLC

Harvey Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI - Free Report) by 16.8% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 170,000 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after buying an additional 24,500 shares during the quarter. MKS Instruments accounts for 2.1% of Harvey Partners LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest position. Harvey Partners LLC owned approximately 0.25% of MKS Instruments worth $18,481,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of MKS Instruments by 7.4% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 663,414 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $72,120,000 after acquiring an additional 45,862 shares in the last quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in MKS Instruments by 17.8% during the third quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC now owns 509,883 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $55,429,000 after buying an additional 77,025 shares in the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. boosted its holdings in MKS Instruments by 7.3% during the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 444,333 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $48,303,000 after buying an additional 30,216 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in MKS Instruments by 0.7% during the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 432,612 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $47,029,000 after buying an additional 3,110 shares in the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its holdings in MKS Instruments by 14.0% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 418,894 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $54,699,000 after buying an additional 51,540 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.79% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of MKS Instruments in a research report on Monday, August 5th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $155.00 target price for the company. Citigroup cut shares of MKS Instruments from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and cut their target price for the stock from $145.00 to $120.00 in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of MKS Instruments from $120.00 to $110.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price objective on shares of MKS Instruments from $153.00 to $156.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on shares of MKS Instruments from $140.00 to $120.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 9th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, MKS Instruments has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $141.09.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Jacqueline F. Moloney sold 250 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.90, for a total value of $27,225.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,283 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,119,818.70. This trade represents a 2.37 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Elizabeth Mora sold 275 shares of MKS Instruments stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.41, for a total transaction of $31,187.75. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 17,659 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,002,707.19. This represents a 1.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.51% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

MKS Instruments Stock Down 0.9 %

MKSI traded down $1.06 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $116.87. 513,072 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 824,225. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $107.55 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $117.91. The company has a market cap of $7.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 259.71, a PEG ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.65. MKS Instruments, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $80.84 and a fifty-two week high of $147.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98, a current ratio of 3.42 and a quick ratio of 2.21.

MKS Instruments (NASDAQ:MKSI - Get Free Report) last released 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. The business had revenue of $896.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $874.29 million. MKS Instruments had a net margin of 0.90% and a return on equity of 15.79%. The business's revenue was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.46 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that MKS Instruments, Inc. will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MKS Instruments Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.75%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 25th. MKS Instruments's dividend payout ratio is currently 195.56%.

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.