Proficio Capital Partners LLC Takes $36,000 Position in MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI)

Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 36,287 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, valued at approximately $36,000. Proficio Capital Partners LLC owned about 0.05% of MKS Instruments as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of MKS Instruments by 68.6% during the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 263 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in MKS Instruments by 58.0% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 433 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 159 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. raised its stake in MKS Instruments by 424.1% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 414 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 335 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in MKS Instruments in the 3rd quarter valued at $50,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in MKS Instruments by 63.9% in the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 572 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 223 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.79% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Benchmark cut their price objective on shares of MKS Instruments from $142.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on MKS Instruments from $150.00 to $147.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Needham & Company LLC decreased their price objective on MKS Instruments from $156.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on MKS Instruments in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $145.00 target price for the company. Finally, Citigroup raised MKS Instruments from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, MKS Instruments presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $140.08.

MKS Instruments Trading Down 3.8 %

Shares of MKS Instruments stock opened at $81.59 on Friday. MKS Instruments, Inc. has a 12-month low of $76.37 and a 12-month high of $147.40. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.75. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $99.35 and a 200 day simple moving average of $105.49. The company has a quick ratio of 2.04, a current ratio of 3.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.93.

MKS Instruments (NASDAQ:MKSI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $2.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.92 by $0.23. MKS Instruments had a net margin of 5.30% and a return on equity of 18.94%. Research analysts expect that MKS Instruments, Inc. will post 6.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MKS Instruments Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th were given a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.08%. MKS Instruments’s payout ratio is 31.43%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Gerard G. Colella sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.53, for a total transaction of $836,240.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 60,017 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,273,577.01. This represents a 11.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Elizabeth Mora sold 275 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.46, for a total transaction of $25,426.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 17,384 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,607,324.64. This trade represents a 1.56 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

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.