Loomis Sayles & Co. L P Lowers Holdings in MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI)

Loomis Sayles & Co. L P lowered its position in shares of MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) by 2.7% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 287,574 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 8,077 shares during the period. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P owned about 0.43% of MKS Instruments worth $30,020,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its holdings in MKS Instruments by 68.6% during the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 263 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of MKS Instruments during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Blue Trust Inc. boosted its stake in shares of MKS Instruments by 424.1% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings 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 valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 159 shares during the period. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in MKS Instruments in the third quarter worth approximately $50,000. 99.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have issued reports on the company. Benchmark dropped their target price on MKS Instruments from $142.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on MKS Instruments from $150.00 to $147.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of MKS Instruments from $128.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $140.00 price target on shares of MKS Instruments in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC cut their price objective on shares of MKS Instruments from $156.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, MKS Instruments currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $140.08.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Elizabeth Mora sold 275 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.46, for a total transaction of $25,426.50. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 17,384 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,607,324.64. This trade represents a 1.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Gerard G. Colella sold 8,000 shares of the business’s 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 transaction, 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. 0.46% of the stock is owned by insiders.

MKS Instruments Stock Down 3.2 %

MKS Instruments stock opened at $84.82 on Friday. MKS Instruments, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $76.37 and a fifty-two week high of $147.40. The company has a market cap of $5.72 billion, a PE ratio of 30.29, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.93, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a current ratio of 3.19. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $100.12 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $105.66.

MKS Instruments (NASDAQ:MKSI) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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%. Equities analysts anticipate that MKS Instruments, Inc. will post 6.94 EPS for the current year.

MKS Instruments Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th were issued a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. MKS Instruments’s payout ratio is 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.