Commonwealth Equity Services LLC Trims Stock Holdings in MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI)

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC lowered its position in shares of MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,497 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 143 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in MKS Instruments were worth $587,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Private Advisor Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of MKS Instruments in the 4th quarter worth approximately $209,000. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in MKS Instruments during the fourth quarter valued at $373,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in MKS Instruments in the fourth quarter worth $117,672,000. UBS Group AG grew its stake in shares of MKS Instruments by 92.8% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 229,385 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $23,597,000 after acquiring an additional 110,427 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Coldstream Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of MKS Instruments during the fourth quarter valued at $403,000. Institutional investors own 99.79% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on MKSI. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their price objective on shares of MKS Instruments from $140.00 to $120.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Needham & Company LLC increased their price target on shares of MKS Instruments from $153.00 to $156.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Bank of America started coverage on shares of MKS Instruments in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $160.00 price objective for the company. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on MKS Instruments from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. Finally, Citigroup downgraded MKS Instruments from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the company from $145.00 to $120.00 in a research note on Monday, September 16th. 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.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $142.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at MKS Instruments

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

MKS Instruments Trading Down 3.7 %

Shares of MKSI opened at $109.88 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.16, a current ratio of 3.58 and a quick ratio of 2.31. MKS Instruments, Inc. has a 1 year low of $63.44 and a 1 year high of $147.40. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $117.35 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $123.90. The firm has a market cap of $7.37 billion, a P/E ratio of -4.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.64.

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

MKS Instruments Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed 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 0.80%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 26th. MKS Instruments’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -3.30%.

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.