Point72 Asset Management L.P. Grows Stock Holdings in MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI)

Point72 Asset Management L.P. grew its holdings in shares of MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI - Free Report) by 1,308.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 172,382 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after purchasing an additional 160,140 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. owned approximately 0.26% of MKS Instruments worth $18,740,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in 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 during the period. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of MKS Instruments by 17.8% in the 3rd quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC now owns 509,883 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $55,429,000 after purchasing an additional 77,025 shares in the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. lifted its stake in shares of MKS Instruments by 7.3% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 444,333 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $48,303,000 after purchasing an additional 30,216 shares during the period. Fisher Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of MKS Instruments by 0.7% in the third quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 432,612 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $47,029,000 after purchasing an additional 3,110 shares during the period. 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. 99.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on MKSI shares. Citigroup cut shares of MKS Instruments from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their target price for the company from $145.00 to $120.00 in a report on Monday, September 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald initiated coverage on MKS Instruments in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $140.00 price objective for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on MKS Instruments from $140.00 to $120.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 9th. Benchmark restated a "buy" rating and issued a $142.00 price target on shares of MKS Instruments in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of MKS Instruments from $120.00 to $110.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $141.09.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other MKS Instruments news, Director Elizabeth Mora sold 275 shares of MKS Instruments stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.41, for a total value of $31,187.75. Following the transaction, the director now owns 17,659 shares in the company, valued at $2,002,707.19. This trade represents a 1.53 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Jacqueline F. Moloney sold 250 shares of the business's 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 sale, the director now directly owns 10,283 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,119,818.70. This represents a 2.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.46% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

MKS Instruments Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ MKSI traded up $1.23 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $114.60. 509,162 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 776,011. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $107.96 and a 200-day moving average price of $117.67. The company has a current ratio of 3.42, a quick ratio of 2.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98. The company has a market capitalization of $7.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 254.67, a P/E/G ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 1.65. MKS Instruments, Inc. has a 52-week low of $81.04 and a 52-week high of $147.40.

MKS Instruments (NASDAQ:MKSI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.72 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 EPS. MKS Instruments's revenue for the quarter was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that MKS Instruments, Inc. will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MKS Instruments Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 25th were paid a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.77%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 25th. MKS Instruments's payout ratio is 195.56%.

MKS Instruments 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.