Oak Thistle LLC Invests $295,000 in MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI)

Oak Thistle LLC purchased a new position in shares of MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 2,823 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock, valued at approximately $295,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV increased its stake in MKS Instruments by 196.9% in the third quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 288 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in shares of MKS Instruments by 53.7% in the 3rd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 349 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP purchased a new position in shares of MKS Instruments in the 2nd quarter valued at $39,000. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in MKS Instruments by 58.0% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 433 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in MKS Instruments in the third quarter valued at $50,000. 99.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Elizabeth Mora sold 275 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.41, for a total value of $31,187.75. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 17,659 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,002,707.19. The trade was a 1.53 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Jacqueline F. Moloney sold 300 shares of MKS Instruments stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $114.80, for a total value of $34,440.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 9,983 shares in the company, valued at $1,146,048.40. The trade was a 2.92 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.51% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

MKS Instruments Price Performance

NASDAQ:MKSI traded up $2.88 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $120.11. 1,154,060 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 634,084. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98, a quick ratio of 2.21 and a current ratio of 3.42. The company has a market cap of $8.08 billion, a PE ratio of 266.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 1.66. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $110.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $113.23. MKS Instruments, Inc. has a 1 year low of $97.54 and a 1 year high of $147.40.

MKS Instruments (NASDAQ:MKSI - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.72 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.45 by $0.27. The firm had revenue of $896.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $874.29 million. MKS Instruments had a return on equity of 15.79% and a net margin of 0.90%. MKS Instruments's quarterly revenue was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.46 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that MKS Instruments, Inc. will post 6.34 EPS for the current year.

MKS Instruments Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Monday, November 25th were paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 25th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.73%. MKS Instruments's payout ratio is currently 195.56%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have commented on MKSI. Benchmark reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $142.00 price target on shares of MKS Instruments in a research report on Monday, November 18th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on shares of MKS Instruments from $143.00 to $128.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of MKS Instruments from $120.00 to $110.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Citigroup upgraded shares of MKS Instruments from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $130.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Mizuho upgraded shares of MKS Instruments to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued 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 price target of $141.75.

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.