Captrust Financial Advisors Reduces Stake in MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI)

Captrust Financial Advisors cut its stake in shares of MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) by 15.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,791 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 519 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors’ holdings in MKS Instruments were worth $291,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Madison Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of MKS Instruments in the fourth quarter worth about $97,494,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of MKS Instruments in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $85,451,000. Barclays PLC raised its stake in MKS Instruments by 108.6% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,019,134 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $110,789,000 after buying an additional 530,620 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in MKS Instruments in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,312,000. Finally, Cooke & Bieler LP lifted its holdings in shares of MKS Instruments by 30.9% during the 4th quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 877,040 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $91,554,000 after purchasing an additional 207,165 shares during the last quarter. 99.79% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other MKS Instruments news, Director Elizabeth Mora sold 275 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.46, for a total value of $25,426.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 17,384 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,607,324.64. This represents a 1.56% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on MKSI shares. Needham & Company LLC reduced their price objective on MKS Instruments from $145.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Benchmark dropped their target price on shares of MKS Instruments from $142.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report 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 report on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of MKS Instruments from $85.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of MKS Instruments from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, MKS Instruments presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $134.33.

MKS Instruments Stock Up 1.2%

Shares of NASDAQ MKSI opened at $89.56 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.93, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a current ratio of 3.19. The firm has a market cap of $6.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.80. MKS Instruments, Inc. has a 1 year low of $54.84 and a 1 year high of $147.40. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $76.76 and its 200 day moving average price is $96.66.

MKS Instruments (NASDAQ:MKSI) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.71 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.29. MKS Instruments had a net margin of 5.30% and a return on equity of 18.94%. The business had revenue of $936.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $913.59 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.18 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that MKS Instruments, Inc. will post 6.94 earnings per share for the current year.

MKS Instruments Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 27th. MKS Instruments’s dividend payout ratio is currently 26.27%.

MKS Instruments Company 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.