First Eagle Investment Management LLC Has $18.44 Million Holdings in MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI)

First Eagle Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) by 7.6% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 141,187 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,000 shares during the quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC owned 0.21% of MKS Instruments worth $18,436,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of MKS Instruments by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,892,941 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $709,077,000 after buying an additional 39,045 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in MKS Instruments by 143.1% during the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,141,676 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $282,102,000 after acquiring an additional 1,260,792 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in MKS Instruments during the 4th quarter worth $117,672,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of MKS Instruments by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 911,243 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $121,195,000 after acquiring an additional 10,079 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Westfield Capital Management Co. LP grew its stake in shares of MKS Instruments by 5.1% in the 1st quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 620,063 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $82,468,000 after acquiring an additional 30,348 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.79% of the company’s stock.

MKS Instruments Stock Performance

Shares of MKSI stock opened at $107.84 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $118.58 and its 200 day moving average is $124.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.23 billion, a P/E ratio of -4.04, a PEG ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.64. MKS Instruments, Inc. has a 12 month low of $63.44 and a 12 month high of $147.40. The company has a current ratio of 3.58, a quick ratio of 2.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.16.

MKS Instruments (NASDAQ:MKSI) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.02 by $0.51. The firm had revenue of $887.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $866.38 million. MKS Instruments had a return on equity of 14.91% and a net margin of 0.25%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.32 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that MKS Instruments, Inc. will post 5.6 earnings per share for the current year.

MKS Instruments Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 26th were issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.82%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 26th. MKS Instruments’s payout ratio is presently -3.30%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on MKSI shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of MKS Instruments from $135.00 to $120.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 9th. KeyCorp upped their target price on MKS Instruments from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 12th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on MKS Instruments from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on MKS Instruments from $140.00 to $120.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Citigroup lowered MKS Instruments from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $145.00 to $120.00 in a research report on Monday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, MKS Instruments presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $142.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Elizabeth Mora sold 275 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.97, for a total value of $31,891.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 17,934 shares in the company, valued at $2,079,805.98. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Elizabeth Mora sold 275 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.97, for a total value of $31,891.75. Following the transaction, the director now owns 17,934 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,079,805.98. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Jacqueline F. Moloney sold 250 shares of MKS Instruments stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.46, for a total value of $30,865.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 10,533 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,300,404.18. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 2,325 shares of company stock worth $276,435 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

MKS Instruments Company 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.