Royce & Associates LP Sells 23,950 Shares of MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI)

Royce & Associates LP lessened its position in shares of MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) by 3.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 739,444 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 23,950 shares during the period. MKS Instruments comprises 0.7% of Royce & Associates LP’s holdings, making the stock its 15th largest position. Royce & Associates LP owned approximately 1.10% of MKS Instruments worth $77,191,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. grew its holdings in shares of MKS Instruments by 7.8% during the third quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 4,317 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $470,000 after buying an additional 312 shares in the last quarter. GSA Capital Partners LLP acquired a new position in MKS Instruments during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $468,000. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in shares of MKS Instruments by 14.9% during the 3rd quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 2,326 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $253,000 after acquiring an additional 302 shares in the last quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC raised its holdings in shares of MKS Instruments by 57.2% in the third quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC now owns 278,887 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $30,318,000 after purchasing an additional 101,439 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mutual of America Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of MKS Instruments by 4.5% in the third quarter. Mutual of America Capital Management LLC now owns 54,088 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $5,880,000 after purchasing an additional 2,313 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.79% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. 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. Citigroup upgraded MKS Instruments from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $140.00 target price on shares of MKS Instruments in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Benchmark decreased their price target on MKS Instruments from $142.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on MKS Instruments from $150.00 to $147.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, MKS Instruments presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $140.08.

Insider Activity at MKS Instruments

In other MKS Instruments news, Director Elizabeth Mora sold 275 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the director now owns 17,384 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,607,324.64. The trade was a 1.56 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Gerard G. Colella sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $6,273,577.01. This represents a 11.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.51% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

MKS Instruments Stock Up 6.3 %

Shares of MKSI opened at $86.32 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $5.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.93, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a current ratio of 3.19. MKS Instruments, Inc. has a 52 week low of $76.37 and a 52 week high of $147.40. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $104.32 and its 200 day simple moving average is $107.10.

MKS Instruments (NASDAQ:MKSI) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $2.15 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, analysts forecast that MKS Instruments, Inc. will post 6.94 earnings per share for the current year.

MKS Instruments Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th were given a $0.22 dividend. 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 1.02%. MKS Instruments’s payout ratio is presently 31.43%.

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.