US Bancorp DE Purchases 118 Shares of MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI)

US Bancorp DE boosted its position in shares of MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) by 2.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,942 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after acquiring an additional 118 shares during the period. US Bancorp DE’s holdings in MKS Instruments were worth $537,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Roubaix Capital LLC raised its position in shares of MKS Instruments by 25.7% during the third quarter. Roubaix Capital LLC now owns 36,804 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $4,001,000 after buying an additional 7,527 shares during the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its position in shares of MKS Instruments by 14.6% during the third quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 7,816 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $849,000 after buying an additional 995 shares during the last quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of MKS Instruments by 0.4% during the third quarter. GHP Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 47,054 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $5,115,000 after buying an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its position in shares of MKS Instruments by 59.3% during the third quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,853 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $528,000 after buying an additional 1,807 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Louisiana State Employees Retirement System raised its position in shares of MKS Instruments by 3.9% during the third quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 18,600 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $2,022,000 after buying an additional 700 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.79% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MKSI has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price objective on shares of MKS Instruments from $140.00 to $120.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 9th. Needham & Company LLC raised their target price on shares of MKS Instruments from $153.00 to $156.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 9th. Citigroup lowered shares of MKS Instruments from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their target price for the company from $145.00 to $120.00 in a report on Monday, September 16th. Mizuho raised shares of MKS Instruments to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of MKS Instruments in a report on Monday, August 5th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $155.00 target price for the company. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $141.09.

MKS Instruments Stock Down 1.8 %

Shares of MKSI opened at $114.17 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 253.71, a P/E/G ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.63. MKS Instruments, Inc. has a 12-month low of $69.01 and a 12-month high of $147.40. The company has a current ratio of 3.42, a quick ratio of 2.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $106.53 and a 200-day moving average price of $119.08.

MKS Instruments (NASDAQ:MKSI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.72 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.45 by $0.27. The firm had revenue of $896.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $874.29 million. MKS Instruments had a return on equity of 15.79% and a net margin of 0.90%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.46 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that MKS Instruments, Inc. will post 5.73 earnings per share for the current year.

MKS Instruments Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Monday, November 25th will be issued a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 25th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.77%. MKS Instruments’s payout ratio is currently 195.56%.

Insider Activity at MKS Instruments

In related news, EVP John Edward Williams sold 1,800 shares of MKS Instruments stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.71, for a total value of $213,678.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 13 shares in the company, valued at $1,543.23. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other MKS Instruments news, EVP John Edward Williams sold 1,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.71, for a total value of $213,678.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 13 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,543.23. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Jacqueline F. Moloney sold 250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.90, for a total transaction of $27,225.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 10,283 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,119,818.70. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 2,325 shares of company stock worth $272,795 over the last three months. 0.46% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.