Summit Global Investments Buys New Stake in MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI)

Summit Global Investments bought a new stake in MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 12,011 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,254,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Citigroup Inc. increased its stake in MKS Instruments by 7.3% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 444,333 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $48,303,000 after acquiring an additional 30,216 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake 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 valued at $265,874,000 after acquiring an additional 237,979 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in MKS Instruments by 3,444.0% in the fourth 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 acquiring an additional 292,226 shares during the period. WCM Investment Management LLC grew its stake in MKS Instruments by 25.5% during the fourth quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 35,069 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $3,650,000 after buying an additional 7,136 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. bought a new stake in MKS Instruments during the third quarter worth about $868,000. Institutional investors own 99.79% of the company’s stock.

MKS Instruments Trading Down 2.6 %

Shares of NASDAQ MKSI opened at $88.17 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $102.08 and its 200 day simple moving average is $106.17. MKS Instruments, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $76.37 and a fifty-two week high of $147.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.93, a current ratio of 3.19 and a quick ratio of 2.04.

MKS Instruments (NASDAQ:MKSI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $2.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. On average, analysts predict that MKS Instruments, Inc. will post 6.94 EPS for the current 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 issued 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 1.00%. MKS Instruments’s dividend payout ratio is currently 31.43%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on MKSI. Needham & Company LLC decreased 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 note on Friday, February 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $140.00 price objective on shares of MKS Instruments in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of MKS Instruments from $150.00 to $147.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Benchmark decreased their price objective on shares of MKS Instruments from $142.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of MKS Instruments in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $145.00 price objective on the stock. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $140.08.

Insider Activity at MKS Instruments

In other MKS Instruments news, Director Gerard G. Colella sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director now directly owns 60,017 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,273,577.01. This trade represents a 11.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Elizabeth Mora sold 275 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director now owns 17,384 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,607,324.64. This trade 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 currently owned by company insiders.

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.