Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC Trims Holdings in MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI)

Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC trimmed its holdings in MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI - Free Report) by 11.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 90,119 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after selling 11,552 shares during the period. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC owned approximately 0.13% of MKS Instruments worth $9,408,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MKSI. Prudential Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of MKS Instruments by 772.7% during the fourth quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 61,447 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $6,481,000 after acquiring an additional 54,406 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of MKS Instruments by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,445,956 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $777,283,000 after purchasing an additional 97,392 shares during the period. LPL Financial LLC increased its holdings in MKS Instruments by 8.6% in the 4th quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 25,145 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $2,625,000 after purchasing an additional 1,992 shares during the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS purchased a new stake in MKS Instruments in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,441,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. raised its position in MKS Instruments by 32.1% in the fourth quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 151,025 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $15,766,000 after purchasing an additional 36,721 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.79% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on MKSI shares. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on MKS Instruments from $150.00 to $147.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on MKS Instruments from $128.00 to $129.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Needham & Company LLC reduced their price target on shares of MKS Instruments from $156.00 to $145.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of MKS Instruments in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $145.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Benchmark cut their target price on shares of MKS Instruments from $142.00 to $135.00 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 assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, MKS Instruments has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $140.08.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other MKS Instruments news, Director Elizabeth Mora sold 275 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.46, for a total transaction of $25,426.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 17,384 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,607,324.64. This trade represents a 1.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gerard G. Colella sold 8,000 shares of MKS Instruments stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.53, for a total value of $836,240.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 60,017 shares in the company, valued at $6,273,577.01. This trade represents a 11.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.46% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

MKS Instruments Stock Down 1.8 %

Shares of MKSI traded down $1.44 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $80.15. The stock had a trading volume of 1,426,527 shares, compared to its average volume of 917,491. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.93, a current ratio of 3.19 and a quick ratio of 2.04. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $98.55 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $105.25. The company has a market cap of $5.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.63, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.75. MKS Instruments, Inc. has a 1-year low of $76.37 and a 1-year high of $147.40.

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

MKS Instruments Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th were paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.10%. MKS Instruments's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.