JPMorgan Chase & Co. Sells 783,502 Shares of MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered its stake in shares of MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) by 48.9% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 819,506 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 783,502 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s holdings in MKS Instruments were worth $89,088,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MKSI. AE Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in MKS Instruments by 5.9% during the second quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,659 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $217,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the period. Equitable Trust Co. lifted its holdings in shares of MKS Instruments by 2.2% during the 3rd quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 5,035 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $547,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of MKS Instruments by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 8,729 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $949,000 after buying an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE grew its holdings in shares of MKS Instruments by 2.4% in the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 4,942 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $537,000 after acquiring an additional 118 shares during the period. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in MKS Instruments by 62.6% during the second quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 309 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $40,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.79% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at MKS Instruments

In other news, Director Jacqueline F. Moloney sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $114.80, for a total transaction of $34,440.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 9,983 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,146,048.40. This represents a 2.92 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Elizabeth Mora sold 275 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.41, for a total transaction of $31,187.75. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 17,659 shares in the company, valued at $2,002,707.19. This represents a 1.53 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on MKS Instruments in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $145.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price 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. Citigroup downgraded shares of MKS Instruments from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $145.00 to $120.00 in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Mizuho raised MKS Instruments to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $142.00 price target on shares of MKS Instruments in a report on Monday, November 18th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $141.00.

MKS Instruments Stock Up 1.6 %

NASDAQ MKSI opened at $106.02 on Friday. MKS Instruments, Inc. has a 12 month low of $95.71 and a 12 month high of $147.40. The company has a current ratio of 3.42, a quick ratio of 2.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98. The stock has a market cap of $7.14 billion, a PE ratio of 235.60, a P/E/G ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.65. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $109.07 and its 200 day moving average is $114.71.

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

MKS Instruments Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 25th were given a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 25th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.83%. MKS Instruments’s payout ratio is 195.56%.

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.