MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) Stock Holdings Trimmed by M&T Bank Corp

M&T Bank Corp lessened its position in shares of MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) by 3.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 16,698 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 510 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp’s holdings in MKS Instruments were worth $1,718,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MKSI. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in MKS Instruments by 2.8% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,853,896 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $593,136,000 after purchasing an additional 187,884 shares during the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of MKS Instruments by 14.9% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 4,490,779 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $461,966,000 after buying an additional 581,453 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its holdings in shares of MKS Instruments by 10.8% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,464,620 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $299,828,000 after buying an additional 338,347 shares during the period. Cooke & Bieler LP grew its position in shares of MKS Instruments by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 1,157,767 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $119,099,000 after buying an additional 27,635 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in MKS Instruments by 0.3% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 933,749 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $80,808,000 after acquiring an additional 2,679 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.79% of the company’s stock.

MKS Instruments Stock Up 3.4 %

Shares of MKS Instruments stock opened at $127.62 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 3.18 and a quick ratio of 2.01. MKS Instruments, Inc. has a 1-year low of $63.44 and a 1-year high of $135.51. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $123.83 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $105.21. The company has a market capitalization of $8.56 billion, a P/E ratio of -4.63, a PEG ratio of 4.01 and a beta of 1.69.

MKS Instruments (NASDAQ:MKSI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 8th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.43. The business had revenue of $868.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $848.94 million. MKS Instruments had a negative net margin of 50.80% and a positive return on equity of 9.95%. The company’s revenue was up 9.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.48 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that MKS Instruments, Inc. will post 4.54 EPS for the current year.

MKS Instruments Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 7th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 28th will be issued a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 24th. MKS Instruments’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -3.19%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on MKSI. KeyCorp lifted their target price on MKS Instruments from $115.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. StockNews.com raised MKS Instruments from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Needham & Company LLC raised their target price on MKS Instruments from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 8th. TheStreet upgraded shares of MKS Instruments from a “d+” rating to a “c-” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of MKS Instruments from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, MKS Instruments currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $128.75.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Kathleen Flaherty Burke sold 7,411 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $122.89, for a total transaction of $910,737.79. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 42,999 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,284,147.11. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director Elizabeth Mora sold 250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.00, for a total transaction of $33,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 16,862 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,242,646. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kathleen Flaherty Burke sold 7,411 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $122.89, for a total transaction of $910,737.79. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 42,999 shares in the company, valued at $5,284,147.11. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 40,776 shares of company stock worth $5,026,307 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.51% 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.