XTX Topco Ltd Acquires 4,393 Shares of MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI)

XTX Topco Ltd raised its holdings in MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) by 111.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,345 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after buying an additional 4,393 shares during the period. XTX Topco Ltd’s holdings in MKS Instruments were worth $1,090,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Private Advisor Group LLC bought a new stake in MKS Instruments in the 4th quarter valued at $209,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of MKS Instruments in the fourth quarter valued at about $117,672,000. UBS Group AG lifted its stake in shares of MKS Instruments by 92.8% during the 4th quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 229,385 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $23,597,000 after buying an additional 110,427 shares during the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of MKS Instruments during the 4th quarter worth about $403,000. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company MN boosted its holdings in shares of MKS Instruments by 5.8% during the 4th quarter. Wells Fargo & Company MN now owns 180,266 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $18,544,000 after buying an additional 9,962 shares during the period. 99.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 sale, 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 SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, Director Elizabeth Mora sold 275 shares of the 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 owns 17,934 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,079,805.98. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP John Edward Williams sold 1,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.71, for a total transaction of $213,678.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 13 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,543.23. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 2,325 shares of company stock valued at $276,435. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on MKSI. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and set a $142.00 price objective on shares of MKS Instruments in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on MKS Instruments from $135.00 to $120.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 9th. Citigroup lowered MKS Instruments from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the company from $145.00 to $120.00 in a report on Monday, September 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on MKS Instruments in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $129.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their target price on shares of MKS Instruments from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 12th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $142.00.

MKS Instruments Stock Performance

Shares of MKS Instruments stock opened at $109.88 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 3.58, a quick ratio of 2.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.16. The company has a market cap of $7.37 billion, a PE ratio of -4.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.64. The company has a 50 day moving average of $116.68 and a 200-day moving average of $123.78. MKS Instruments, Inc. has a 1-year low of $63.44 and a 1-year high of $147.40.

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

MKS Instruments Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 26th were given a $0.22 dividend. 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 is presently -3.30%.

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.