Victory Capital Management Inc. Purchases 35,256 Shares of MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI)

Victory Capital Management Inc. grew its position in MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI - Free Report) by 1.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 3,088,283 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after purchasing an additional 35,256 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned approximately 4.59% of MKS Instruments worth $322,386,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in MKS Instruments by 277.0% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,165 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $127,000 after acquiring an additional 856 shares in the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its stake in MKS Instruments by 22.5% during the third quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 2,718 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $295,000 after acquiring an additional 499 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in MKS Instruments by 13,537.3% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 10,228 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $1,112,000 after acquiring an additional 10,153 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in MKS Instruments by 59.3% during the third quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,853 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $528,000 after acquiring an additional 1,807 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of Alaska Department of Revenue boosted its stake in MKS Instruments by 14.6% during the third quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 7,816 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $849,000 after acquiring an additional 995 shares in the last quarter. 99.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MKSI. Citigroup raised shares of MKS Instruments from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $130.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated 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 on the stock. Morgan Stanley dropped 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 note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $140.00 price objective on shares of MKS Instruments in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. 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. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $140.08.

MKS Instruments Stock Up 2.9 %

Shares of MKSI stock traded up $2.37 on Friday, hitting $84.89. The stock had a trading volume of 1,192,445 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,003,571. MKS Instruments, Inc. has a 12-month low of $80.36 and a 12-month high of $147.40. The business has a 50 day moving average of $107.16 and a 200 day moving average of $108.73. 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 $5.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.75.

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

MKS Instruments Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors 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 yield of 1.04%. MKS Instruments's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.43%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Elizabeth Mora sold 275 shares of MKS Instruments stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.46, for a total value of $25,426.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 17,384 shares in the company, valued at $1,607,324.64. This trade represents a 1.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 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 transaction of $836,240.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 8,575 shares of company stock worth $896,107. Insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

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.