MKS Instruments (NASDAQ:MKSI) Upgraded to “Buy” at Citigroup

Citigroup upgraded shares of MKS Instruments (NASDAQ:MKSI) from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Monday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have $130.00 price objective on the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock.

MKSI has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on MKS Instruments in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 price target on the stock. Mizuho raised shares of MKS Instruments to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of MKS Instruments from $155.00 to $150.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of MKS Instruments in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $145.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of MKS Instruments from $120.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $141.83.

MKS Instruments Trading Up 5.8 %

NASDAQ MKSI opened at $114.59 on Monday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $109.45 and its 200-day moving average is $114.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98, a current ratio of 3.42 and a quick ratio of 2.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 254.64, a PEG ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.66. MKS Instruments has a one year low of $97.54 and a one year high of $147.40.

MKS Instruments (NASDAQ:MKSI) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.72 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.45 by $0.27. MKS Instruments had a net margin of 0.90% and a return on equity of 15.79%. The firm had revenue of $896.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $874.29 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.46 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that MKS Instruments will post 6.33 EPS for the current year.

MKS Instruments Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 25th were paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 25th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.77%. MKS Instruments’s dividend payout ratio is currently 195.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling at MKS Instruments

In related news, Director Jacqueline F. Moloney sold 300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $114.80, for a total value of $34,440.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 9,983 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,146,048.40. This trade represents a 2.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Elizabeth Mora sold 275 shares of MKS Instruments stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.41, for a total transaction of $31,187.75. Following the sale, the director now owns 17,659 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,002,707.19. The trade was a 1.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in MKS Instruments by 108.6% during 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 purchasing an additional 530,620 shares during the last quarter. Shellback Capital LP purchased a new position in shares of MKS Instruments during the 2nd quarter valued at about $34,541,000. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of MKS Instruments by 219.5% during the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 348,024 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $45,445,000 after buying an additional 239,099 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in MKS Instruments by 10.4% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,525,037 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $265,874,000 after buying an additional 237,979 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Artemis Investment Management LLP purchased a new stake in MKS Instruments in the third quarter worth approximately $21,690,000. Institutional investors own 99.79% of the company’s stock.

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.