Handelsbanken Fonder AB Cuts Stock Position in MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI)

Handelsbanken Fonder AB cut its holdings in shares of MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) by 1.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 17,900 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 200 shares during the period. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in MKS Instruments were worth $1,869,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System increased its stake in MKS Instruments by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 18,700 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $1,952,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its stake in MKS Instruments by 5.2% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 2,068 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $216,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the period. Equitable Trust Co. increased its stake in MKS Instruments by 2.2% during the third quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 5,035 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $547,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in MKS Instruments by 1.3% during the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 8,729 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $949,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the period. Finally, US Bancorp DE increased its stake in MKS Instruments by 2.4% during the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 4,942 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $537,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the period. 99.79% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MKSI. Citigroup upgraded shares of MKS Instruments from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on MKS Instruments in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $145.00 price objective for the company. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price objective on MKS Instruments from $156.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on MKS Instruments from $128.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $140.00 price objective on shares of MKS Instruments in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $140.08.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Elizabeth Mora sold 275 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.41, for a total value of $31,187.75. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 17,659 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,002,707.19. This represents a 1.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, 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 value of $836,240.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 60,017 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,273,577.01. The trade was a 11.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 8,575 shares of company stock valued at $901,868. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

MKS Instruments Stock Performance

Shares of MKSI opened at $96.11 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $109.53 and a 200 day moving average price of $109.97. The company has a quick ratio of 2.04, a current ratio of 3.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.93. The company has a market capitalization of $6.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.66. MKS Instruments, Inc. has a 52-week low of $95.61 and a 52-week high of $147.40.

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

MKS Instruments Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th will be issued a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 24th. MKS Instruments’s payout ratio is currently 31.43%.

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.