MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) Shares Purchased by Russell Investments Group Ltd.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI – Get Rating) by 125.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 25,364 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,114 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd.’s holdings in MKS Instruments were worth $2,149,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MKSI. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its stake in MKS Instruments by 257.4% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 461 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 332 shares during the last quarter. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in MKS Instruments during the third quarter worth about $98,000. Covestor Ltd increased its stake in MKS Instruments by 19.1% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 692 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $104,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its stake in MKS Instruments by 39.3% during the third quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 1,369 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $113,000 after acquiring an additional 386 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First National Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in MKS Instruments during the third quarter worth about $115,000. 86.77% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MKSI has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 price target (up from $110.00) on shares of MKS Instruments in a research note on Tuesday, February 28th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on MKS Instruments from $95.00 to $90.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 14th. Citigroup increased their target price on MKS Instruments from $100.00 to $113.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 2nd. StockNews.com lowered MKS Instruments from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Friday, May 12th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on MKS Instruments from $110.00 to $100.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, April 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $114.36.

Insider Transactions at MKS Instruments

In other news, major shareholder Carlyle Partners Vi Cayman Hol sold 2,000,000 shares of MKS Instruments stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.12, for a total value of $172,240,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 6,482,732 shares in the company, valued at approximately $558,292,879.84. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

MKS Instruments Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MKSI opened at $87.60 on Monday. MKS Instruments, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $64.77 and a fifty-two week high of $125.56. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $84.71 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $87.91. The company has a quick ratio of 1.93, a current ratio of 3.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.09. The firm has a market cap of $5.85 billion, a PE ratio of 33.95 and a beta of 1.55.

MKS Instruments (NASDAQ:MKSI – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 3rd. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $0.48 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.28) by $0.76. The firm had revenue of $794.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $769.85 million. MKS Instruments had a return on equity of 11.77% and a net margin of 4.11%. MKS Instruments’s quarterly revenue was up 7.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.71 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that MKS Instruments, Inc. will post 3.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MKS Instruments Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 9th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 30th will be given a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 26th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.00%. MKS Instruments’s payout ratio is 34.11%.

About MKS Instruments

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MKS Instruments, Inc provides instruments, systems, subsystems and process control solutions to measure, control, power, monitor, and analyze parameters of manufacturing processes to improve process performance and productivity for its customers. It operates through the following segments: Vacuum & Analysis, Light & Motion and Equipment & Solutions.