K2 Principal Fund L.P. Sells 991 Shares of MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI)

K2 Principal Fund L.P. lowered its position in MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) by 7.2% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 12,849 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 991 shares during the period. K2 Principal Fund L.P.’s holdings in MKS Instruments were worth $1,397,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MKSI. State Street Corp grew its position in MKS Instruments by 3.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,954,881 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $212,515,000 after buying an additional 65,200 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of MKS Instruments by 7.4% during the 3rd 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 last quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of MKS Instruments by 17.8% during the third quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC now owns 509,883 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $55,429,000 after purchasing an additional 77,025 shares in the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. increased its position 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 worth $48,303,000 after purchasing an additional 30,216 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC raised its stake in 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.79% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other MKS Instruments news, Director Jacqueline F. Moloney sold 250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.90, for a total value of $27,225.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,283 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,119,818.70. This represents a 2.37 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Elizabeth Mora sold 275 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.41, for a total transaction of $31,187.75. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 17,659 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,002,707.19. This represents a 1.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.46% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MKSI has been the subject of a number of research reports. Mizuho raised shares of MKS Instruments to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of MKS Instruments from $120.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on MKS Instruments in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 price target on the stock. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $142.00 price objective on shares of MKS Instruments in a report on Monday, November 18th. Finally, Citigroup lowered MKS Instruments from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $145.00 to $120.00 in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued 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 an average price target of $141.09.

MKS Instruments Price Performance

Shares of MKS Instruments stock opened at $114.60 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 254.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 1.65. MKS Instruments, Inc. has a one year low of $81.04 and a one year high of $147.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98, a current ratio of 3.42 and a quick ratio of 2.21. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $107.96 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $117.57.

MKS Instruments (NASDAQ:MKSI) last issued 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. The company had revenue of $896.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $874.29 million. MKS Instruments had a net margin of 0.90% and a return on equity of 15.79%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.46 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that MKS Instruments, Inc. will post 6.33 EPS for the current year.

MKS Instruments Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 25th were issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 25th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.77%. MKS Instruments’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.