Signaturefd LLC Reduces Holdings in MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI)

Signaturefd LLC reduced its holdings in shares of MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) by 34.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 607 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 321 shares during the quarter. Signaturefd LLC’s holdings in MKS Instruments were worth $62,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of MKS Instruments by 2.8% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,853,896 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $593,136,000 after buying an additional 187,884 shares in the last quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MKS Instruments during the fourth quarter worth about $21,052,000. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in shares of MKS Instruments by 2,071.7% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 880,884 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $90,432,000 after buying an additional 840,322 shares in the last quarter. Tributary Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of MKS Instruments by 23.2% during the fourth quarter. Tributary Capital Management LLC now owns 7,453 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $767,000 after buying an additional 1,402 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Eagle Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of MKS Instruments by 41.1% during the third quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 134,735 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $11,660,000 after buying an additional 39,255 shares in the last quarter. 99.79% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at MKS Instruments

In other news, Director Gerard G. Colella sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total transaction of $1,200,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 68,017 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,162,040. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, EVP Kathleen Flaherty Burke sold 7,411 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $122.89, for a total transaction of $910,737.79. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 42,999 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,284,147.11. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Gerard G. Colella sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total transaction of $1,200,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 68,017 shares in the company, valued at $8,162,040. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 50,776 shares of company stock valued at $6,226,307 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.51% of the company’s stock.

MKS Instruments Trading Down 3.2 %

Shares of MKSI stock opened at $115.14 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $7.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.05 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a quick ratio of 2.01, a current ratio of 3.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90. MKS Instruments, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $63.44 and a fifty-two week high of $135.51. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $123.65 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $103.42.

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

MKS Instruments Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 8th. Shareholders 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.76%. MKS Instruments’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -3.19%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. KeyCorp lifted their price target on shares of MKS Instruments from $115.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. Needham & Company LLC raised their target price on shares of MKS Instruments from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. TheStreet raised shares of MKS Instruments from a “d+” rating to a “c-” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Benchmark raised their target price on shares of MKS Instruments from $85.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of MKS Instruments from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $128.75.

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.