New Age Alpha Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI)

New Age Alpha Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 1,854 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, valued at approximately $194,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in MKS Instruments by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,445,956 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $777,283,000 after buying an additional 97,392 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of MKS Instruments by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,088,283 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $322,386,000 after purchasing an additional 35,256 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 237,979 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in MKS Instruments by 3.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,954,881 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $212,515,000 after purchasing an additional 65,200 shares during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in MKS Instruments by 4.6% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,172,517 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $127,496,000 after purchasing an additional 51,519 shares during the period. 99.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

MKS Instruments Stock Up 1.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:MKSI opened at $81.28 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.93, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a current ratio of 3.19. MKS Instruments, Inc. has a 52-week low of $76.37 and a 52-week high of $147.40. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $96.89 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $104.86. The firm has a market cap of $5.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.03, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.75.

MKS Instruments (NASDAQ:MKSI) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $2.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, research analysts forecast that MKS Instruments, Inc. will post 6.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MKS Instruments Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Gerard G. Colella sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.53, for a total transaction of $836,240.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 60,017 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,273,577.01. This represents a 11.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Elizabeth Mora sold 275 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.46, for a total value of $25,426.50. Following the transaction, 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.

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.