Seven Eight Capital LP Takes $278,000 Position in MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI)

Seven Eight Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 2,132 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, valued at approximately $278,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wells Fargo & Company MN raised its position 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 purchasing an additional 9,962 shares during the period. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC acquired a new stake in MKS Instruments in the first quarter worth $918,000. Crestline Management LP acquired a new position in shares of MKS Instruments during the fourth quarter valued at $3,498,000. Bessemer Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of MKS Instruments by 7.1% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 78,093 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $10,387,000 after acquiring an additional 5,184 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew 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 worth $709,077,000 after acquiring an additional 39,045 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.79% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MKSI has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on shares of MKS Instruments in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 target price for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on MKS Instruments from $140.00 to $120.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 9th. Citigroup downgraded MKS Instruments from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the company from $145.00 to $120.00 in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on MKS Instruments from $135.00 to $120.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Finally, Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and set a $142.00 price objective on shares of MKS Instruments in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Five 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 a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $142.00.

MKS Instruments Price Performance

Shares of MKS Instruments stock opened at $109.45 on Tuesday. MKS Instruments, Inc. has a 52 week low of $63.44 and a 52 week 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. The stock has a market cap of $7.34 billion, a PE ratio of -4.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.64. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $116.01 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $123.58.

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

MKS Instruments Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 26th were paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, August 26th. MKS Instruments’s dividend payout ratio is presently -3.30%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Elizabeth Mora sold 275 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director now directly owns 17,934 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,079,805.98. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other MKS Instruments news, EVP John Edward Williams sold 1,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 13 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,543.23. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Elizabeth Mora sold 275 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 17,934 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,079,805.98. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 2,325 shares of company stock worth $276,435 in the last three months. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

MKS Instruments 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.