State of Alaska Department of Revenue Sells 680 Shares of MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI)

State of Alaska Department of Revenue lowered its holdings in shares of MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) by 9.1% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 6,791 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 680 shares during the period. State of Alaska Department of Revenue’s holdings in MKS Instruments were worth $698,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Belpointe Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of MKS Instruments by 73.5% during the 1st quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 295 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. PCA Investment Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in MKS Instruments in the 2nd quarter worth about $34,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in MKS Instruments in the 2nd quarter worth about $52,000. Covestor Ltd increased its holdings in MKS Instruments by 19.1% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 692 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $104,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new position in MKS Instruments in the 1st quarter worth about $135,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.79% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MKSI. Needham & Company LLC upped their target price on MKS Instruments from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Benchmark upped their target price on MKS Instruments from $85.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. StockNews.com raised MKS Instruments from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. TheStreet raised MKS Instruments from a “d+” rating to a “c-” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Finally, KeyCorp increased their price target on MKS Instruments from $115.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $123.00.

MKS Instruments Trading Up 2.4 %

Shares of MKSI stock opened at $127.35 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $8.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.62, a PEG ratio of 4.22 and a beta of 1.67. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $123.79 and a 200-day moving average of $100.22. The company has a current ratio of 3.18, a quick ratio of 2.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90. MKS Instruments, Inc. has a 1-year low of $63.44 and a 1-year high of $135.51.

MKS Instruments (NASDAQ:MKSI) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.17 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.28. MKS Instruments had a positive return on equity of 9.95% and a negative net margin of 50.80%. The company had revenue of $893.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $845.25 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.00 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that MKS Instruments, Inc. will post 4.54 earnings per share for the current year.

MKS Instruments Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 8th. Investors of record on Monday, February 26th were given a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 23rd. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.69%. MKS Instruments’s payout ratio is -3.19%.

Insider Activity at MKS Instruments

In related news, Director Gerard G. Colella sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.00, for a total transaction of $1,100,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 78,017 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,581,870. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other MKS Instruments news, CFO Seth H. Bagshaw sold 32,865 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.28, for a total value of $4,051,597.20. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 1 shares in the company, valued at $123.28. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gerard G. Colella sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $110.00, for a total value of $1,100,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 78,017 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,581,870. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 60,776 shares of company stock worth $7,326,307 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.51% of the company’s stock.

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.