Profund Advisors LLC Grows Stock Position in MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI)

Profund Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) by 3.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 6,158 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after purchasing an additional 189 shares during the period. Profund Advisors LLC’s holdings in MKS Instruments were worth $804,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Atlas Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in MKS Instruments during the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC acquired a new position in shares of MKS Instruments in the first quarter worth about $25,000. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new position in MKS Instruments in the first quarter valued at about $26,000. Quest Partners LLC acquired a new stake in MKS Instruments during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Key Financial Inc purchased a new stake in MKS Instruments during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $39,000. 99.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at MKS Instruments

In related news, Director Jacqueline F. Moloney sold 250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.46, for a total value of $30,865.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 10,533 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,300,404.18. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Elizabeth Mora sold 275 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.97, for a total value of $31,891.75. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 17,934 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,079,805.98. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Jacqueline F. Moloney sold 250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.46, for a total transaction of $30,865.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 10,533 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,300,404.18. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 2,325 shares of company stock worth $276,435. Company insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price on MKS Instruments from $140.00 to $120.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of MKS Instruments in a research report on Monday, August 5th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $155.00 target price for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on shares of MKS Instruments in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 price target on the stock. KeyCorp boosted their price objective on MKS Instruments from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on MKS Instruments from $135.00 to $120.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 9th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $142.00.

MKS Instruments Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ MKSI opened at $109.23 on Wednesday. MKS Instruments, Inc. has a 12-month low of $63.44 and a 12-month high of $147.40. The company has a market cap of $7.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 1.64. The company has a current ratio of 3.58, a quick ratio of 2.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.16. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $115.31 and its 200 day simple moving average is $123.45.

MKS Instruments (NASDAQ:MKSI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 7th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.53 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.02 by $0.51. The business had revenue of $887.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $866.38 million. MKS Instruments had a net margin of 0.25% and a return on equity of 14.91%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 11.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.32 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that MKS Instruments, Inc. will post 5.6 EPS for the current year.

MKS Instruments Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 26th were issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, August 26th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.81%. MKS Instruments’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -3.30%.

MKS Instruments 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.