20,494 Shares in MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) Acquired by Vestcor Inc

Vestcor Inc acquired a new position in shares of MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 20,494 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock, valued at approximately $2,139,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MKSI. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. increased its holdings in shares of MKS Instruments by 4.7% in the 4th quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 2,143 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $224,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares in the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System grew its position in MKS Instruments by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 18,700 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $1,952,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in MKS Instruments by 5.2% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 2,068 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $216,000 after buying an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its position in shares of MKS Instruments by 68.6% during the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 263 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares during the period. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of MKS Instruments by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 8,729 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $949,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.79% of the company's stock.

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MKS Instruments Trading Up 4.3 %

NASDAQ:MKSI traded up $3.78 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $91.54. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,884,319 shares, compared to its average volume of 879,858. 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 stock has a market cap of $6.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.69, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.75. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $103.31 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $106.61. MKS Instruments, Inc. has a twelve month low of $76.37 and a twelve month high of $147.40.

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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.92 by $0.23. MKS Instruments had a net margin of 5.30% and a return on equity of 18.94%. On average, equities analysts predict that MKS Instruments, Inc. will post 6.94 EPS for the current year.

MKS Instruments Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th were issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.96%. MKS Instruments's payout ratio is 31.43%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Gerard G. Colella sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.53, for a total value of $836,240.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 60,017 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,273,577.01. This represents a 11.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Elizabeth Mora sold 275 shares of MKS Instruments stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $1,607,324.64. The trade was a 1.56 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on MKSI. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of MKS Instruments from $150.00 to $147.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Benchmark reduced their price target on shares of MKS Instruments from $142.00 to $135.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. Citigroup upgraded shares of MKS Instruments from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $130.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Needham & Company LLC cut their price objective on MKS Instruments from $156.00 to $145.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on MKS Instruments from $128.00 to $129.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $140.08.

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.