Ceredex Value Advisors LLC Has $47.30 Million Holdings in MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI)

Ceredex Value Advisors LLC cut its position in shares of MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI - Free Report) by 11.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 453,059 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after selling 56,824 shares during the quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC owned 0.67% of MKS Instruments worth $47,295,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in MKS Instruments by 10.4% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,525,037 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $265,874,000 after buying an additional 237,979 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in shares of MKS Instruments by 3,444.0% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 300,711 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $31,391,000 after purchasing an additional 292,226 shares in the last quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. increased its stake in MKS Instruments by 772.7% in the 4th quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 61,447 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $6,481,000 after buying an additional 54,406 shares during the period. WCM Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of MKS Instruments by 25.5% during the fourth quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 35,069 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $3,650,000 after acquiring an additional 7,136 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group purchased a new position in MKS Instruments in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,480,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.79% of the company's stock.

MKS Instruments Stock Performance

Shares of MKSI traded down $4.67 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $59.05. The stock had a trading volume of 350,198 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,009,343. MKS Instruments, Inc. has a one year low of $54.84 and a one year high of $147.40. The firm has a market cap of $3.98 billion, a PE ratio of 21.09, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.81. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $83.71 and a 200-day simple moving average of $100.56. The company has a current ratio of 3.19, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.93.

MKS Instruments (NASDAQ:MKSI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $2.15 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.92 by $0.23. MKS Instruments had a net margin of 5.30% and a return on equity of 18.94%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that MKS Instruments, Inc. will post 6.94 EPS for the current year.

MKS Instruments Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th were issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. MKS Instruments's dividend payout ratio is currently 31.43%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Gerard G. Colella sold 8,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.53, for a total transaction of $836,240.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 60,017 shares in the company, valued at $6,273,577.01. This represents a 11.76 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Elizabeth Mora sold 275 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.46, for a total transaction of $25,426.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 17,384 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,607,324.64. The trade was a 1.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.51% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating and set a $140.00 price target on shares of MKS Instruments in a report on Thursday, February 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on MKS Instruments from $128.00 to $129.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Benchmark dropped their target price on MKS Instruments from $142.00 to $135.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Needham & Company LLC dropped their price target on shares of MKS Instruments from $156.00 to $145.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on MKS Instruments from $150.00 to $147.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $140.08.

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.