Avior Wealth Management LLC Purchases Shares of 1,337 MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI)

Avior Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 1,337 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, valued at approximately $138,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of MKSI. Belpointe Asset Management LLC boosted its stake 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 purchasing an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Mendota Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of MKS Instruments during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. PCA Investment Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in MKS Instruments during the second quarter worth approximately $34,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. purchased a new stake in MKS Instruments in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $52,000. Finally, Baystate Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in MKS Instruments in the 4th quarter valued at $56,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.79% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at MKS Instruments

In other MKS Instruments news, Director Gerard G. Colella sold 10,000 shares of the company’s 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 transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Gerard G. Colella sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.00, for a total transaction of $1,100,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 78,017 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,581,870. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Seth H. Bagshaw sold 32,865 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.28, for a total transaction of $4,051,597.20. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 1 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $123.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 60,776 shares of company stock worth $7,326,307. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

MKS Instruments Trading Down 3.5 %

MKSI opened at $108.17 on Friday. MKS Instruments, Inc. has a 1 year low of $63.44 and a 1 year high of $135.51. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $124.39 and a 200 day moving average price of $101.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 3.18 and a quick ratio of 2.01.

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

MKS Instruments Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 26th were paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 23rd. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.81%. MKS Instruments’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -3.19%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on MKSI shares. Benchmark raised their price objective on MKS Instruments from $85.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. TheStreet upgraded MKS Instruments from a “d+” rating to a “c-” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Needham & Company LLC increased their price objective on shares of MKS Instruments from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of MKS Instruments from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of MKS Instruments from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, MKS Instruments currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $128.75.

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.