Barclays PLC Grows Stock Position in MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI)

Barclays PLC boosted its stake in shares of MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) by 108.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,019,134 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after purchasing an additional 530,620 shares during the quarter. Barclays PLC owned approximately 1.51% of MKS Instruments worth $110,789,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MKSI. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of MKS Instruments by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,954,881 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $212,515,000 after purchasing an additional 65,200 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in MKS Instruments by 7.4% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 663,414 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $72,120,000 after buying an additional 45,862 shares in the last quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in MKS Instruments by 17.8% during the 3rd quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC now owns 509,883 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $55,429,000 after buying an additional 77,025 shares during the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. lifted its holdings in MKS Instruments by 7.3% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 444,333 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $48,303,000 after buying an additional 30,216 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fisher Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of MKS Instruments by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 432,612 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $47,029,000 after acquiring an additional 3,110 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.79% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on MKSI shares. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on MKS Instruments in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $129.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of MKS Instruments from $120.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Mizuho upgraded shares of MKS Instruments to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Citigroup lowered shares of MKS Instruments from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $145.00 to $120.00 in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and issued a $142.00 price objective on shares of MKS Instruments in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, MKS Instruments presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $141.09.

Insider Transactions at MKS Instruments

In related news, Director Jacqueline F. Moloney sold 250 shares of MKS Instruments stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.90, for a total value of $27,225.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 10,283 shares in the company, valued at $1,119,818.70. The trade was a 2.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Elizabeth Mora sold 275 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now owns 17,659 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,002,707.19. The trade was a 1.53 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.51% of the company’s stock.

MKS Instruments Stock Performance

Shares of MKSI stock opened at $110.91 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $108.20 and its 200 day moving average price is $117.23. The company has a quick ratio of 2.21, a current ratio of 3.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.46 billion, a PE ratio of 246.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.65. MKS Instruments, Inc. has a 52-week low of $83.60 and a 52-week high of $147.40.

MKS Instruments (NASDAQ:MKSI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.72 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.45 by $0.27. MKS Instruments had a return on equity of 15.79% and a net margin of 0.90%. The business had revenue of $896.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $874.29 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.46 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that MKS Instruments, Inc. will post 6.33 EPS for the current year.

MKS Instruments Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 25th were issued a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.79%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 25th. MKS Instruments’s payout ratio is 195.56%.

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.