MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) Shares Sold by HighTower Advisors LLC

HighTower Advisors LLC cut its position in MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) by 87.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,398 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 23,112 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC’s holdings in MKS Instruments were worth $370,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MKSI. &PARTNERS acquired a new stake in shares of MKS Instruments in the second quarter valued at approximately $358,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its stake in MKS Instruments by 62.6% in the second quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 309 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the period. Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of MKS Instruments by 0.7% in the second quarter. Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. now owns 77,836 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $10,164,000 after buying an additional 570 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its stake in shares of MKS Instruments by 11.3% during the second quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 13,689 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $1,788,000 after buying an additional 1,390 shares during the period. Finally, Innealta Capital LLC acquired a new position in MKS Instruments in the 2nd quarter valued at about $176,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.79% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MKSI has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on MKS Instruments in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 target price on the stock. Mizuho upgraded shares of MKS Instruments to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $142.00 target price on shares of MKS Instruments in a report on Monday, November 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of MKS Instruments in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $145.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on MKS Instruments from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, MKS Instruments has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $141.00.

Insider Activity at MKS Instruments

In other MKS Instruments news, Director Jacqueline F. Moloney sold 250 shares of MKS Instruments stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.90, for a total transaction of $27,225.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 10,283 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,119,818.70. The trade was a 2.37 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Elizabeth Mora sold 275 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.41, for a total transaction of $31,187.75. Following the sale, the director now owns 17,659 shares in the company, valued at $2,002,707.19. This trade represents a 1.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 825 shares of company stock valued at $92,853 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

MKS Instruments Price Performance

Shares of MKSI stock opened at $103.53 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $108.49 and a 200-day simple moving average of $116.24. The company has a market capitalization of $6.97 billion, a PE ratio of 230.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.65. MKS Instruments, Inc. has a twelve month low of $95.71 and a twelve month high of $147.40. The company has a current ratio of 3.42, a quick ratio of 2.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98.

MKS Instruments (NASDAQ:MKSI) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.45 by $0.27. The company had revenue of $896.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $874.29 million. MKS Instruments had a return on equity of 15.79% and a net margin of 0.90%. MKS Instruments’s quarterly revenue was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.46 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that MKS Instruments, Inc. will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MKS Instruments Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 25th were issued a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.85%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 25th. MKS Instruments’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 195.56%.

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.