Renaissance Technologies LLC Buys Shares of 125,403 MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI)

Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 125,403 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock, valued at approximately $13,091,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned 0.19% of MKS Instruments at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in MKSI. Barclays PLC grew its position in shares of MKS Instruments by 108.6% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,019,134 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $110,789,000 after purchasing an additional 530,620 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in MKS Instruments by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,172,517 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $127,496,000 after buying an additional 51,519 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of MKS Instruments in the third quarter valued at about $763,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new position in shares of MKS Instruments in the third quarter valued at about $50,000. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC raised its stake in MKS Instruments by 65.7% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 31,849 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $3,462,000 after purchasing an additional 12,628 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.79% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MKSI has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating and set a $140.00 price objective on shares of MKS Instruments in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Benchmark cut their price target on shares of MKS Instruments from $142.00 to $135.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Citigroup raised 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. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of MKS Instruments from $128.00 to $129.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reduced their price objective on shares of MKS Instruments from $156.00 to $145.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $140.08.

MKS Instruments Trading Up 0.0 %

MKS Instruments stock traded up $0.03 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $63.72. 1,641,411 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,010,761. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $83.71 and its 200 day simple moving average is $100.62. MKS Instruments, Inc. has a twelve month low of $54.84 and a twelve month high of $147.40. The company has a quick ratio of 2.04, a current ratio of 3.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $4.30 billion, a PE ratio of 22.76, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.81.

MKS Instruments (NASDAQ:MKSI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $2.15 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.92 by $0.23. MKS Instruments had a return on equity of 18.94% and a net margin of 5.30%. Research analysts predict that MKS Instruments, Inc. will post 6.94 earnings per share for the current year.

MKS Instruments Announces Dividend

The company 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 was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.38%. MKS Instruments's payout ratio is currently 31.43%.

Insider Activity

In other MKS Instruments news, Director Gerard G. Colella sold 8,000 shares of MKS Instruments 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 60,017 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,273,577.01. The trade was a 11.76 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Elizabeth Mora sold 275 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 17,384 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,607,324.64. This represents a 1.56 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.51% of the company's stock.

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.