Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. Sells 5,752 Shares of MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI)

Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. cut its holdings in MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI - Free Report) by 5.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 109,755 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after selling 5,752 shares during the period. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. owned 0.16% of MKS Instruments worth $8,797,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Washington Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in MKS Instruments during the first quarter worth about $601,000. Rhumbline Advisers grew its holdings in MKS Instruments by 0.8% during the first quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 187,807 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $15,053,000 after acquiring an additional 1,478 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of MKS Instruments by 89.3% in the 1st quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 581 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 274 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in MKS Instruments by 8,326.0% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 95,298 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $7,638,000 after purchasing an additional 94,167 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ABLE Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of MKS Instruments in the fourth quarter valued at $1,669,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.79% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on MKSI shares. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $140.00 price objective on shares of MKS Instruments in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Needham & Company LLC dropped their price objective on shares of MKS Instruments from $145.00 to $140.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of MKS Instruments from $93.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Benchmark cut their price objective on shares of MKS Instruments from $142.00 to $135.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of MKS Instruments from $128.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $132.64.

MKS Instruments Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MKSI traded down $4.38 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $89.37. The stock had a trading volume of 1,079,078 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,053,523. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.84. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $79.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $93.89. MKS Instruments, Inc. has a 52 week low of $54.84 and a 52 week high of $147.40. 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 announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.29. MKS Instruments had a return on equity of 18.94% and a net margin of 5.30%. The firm had revenue of $936.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $913.59 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.18 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that MKS Instruments, Inc. will post 6.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MKS Instruments Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th were given a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 27th. MKS Instruments's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 26.27%.

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.