Alliancebernstein L.P. Decreases Stock Holdings in MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI)

Alliancebernstein L.P. reduced its holdings in MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) by 2.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 88,486 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 2,513 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned approximately 0.13% of MKS Instruments worth $9,237,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in MKS Instruments by 10.4% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,525,037 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $265,874,000 after acquiring an additional 237,979 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in shares of MKS Instruments by 3,444.0% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 300,711 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $31,391,000 after purchasing an additional 292,226 shares during the last quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of MKS Instruments by 25.5% in the 4th quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 35,069 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $3,650,000 after purchasing an additional 7,136 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of MKS Instruments by 772.7% during the 4th quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 61,447 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $6,481,000 after purchasing an additional 54,406 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tributary Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in MKS Instruments by 65.0% during the 4th quarter. Tributary Capital Management LLC now owns 8,751 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $914,000 after buying an additional 3,447 shares during the period. 99.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other MKS Instruments news, Director Gerard G. Colella sold 8,000 shares of MKS Instruments stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.53, for a total value of $836,240.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 60,017 shares in the company, valued at $6,273,577.01. The trade was 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 at the SEC website. Also, Director Elizabeth Mora sold 275 shares of the business’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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 17,384 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,607,324.64. This represents a 1.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.46% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

MKS Instruments Price Performance

Shares of MKSI stock opened at $64.24 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $4.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.81. The company has a current ratio of 3.19, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.93. MKS Instruments, Inc. has a twelve month low of $54.84 and a twelve month high of $147.40. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $89.22 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $102.38.

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

MKS Instruments Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th were paid a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.37%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. MKS Instruments’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.