Cetera Investment Advisers Has $2.45 Million Stock Position in MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI)

Cetera Investment Advisers increased its holdings in shares of MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI - Free Report) by 49.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 23,439 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after purchasing an additional 7,806 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers' holdings in MKS Instruments were worth $2,447,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in MKSI. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in shares of MKS Instruments by 108.6% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,019,134 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $110,789,000 after buying an additional 530,620 shares in the last quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP grew its position in MKS Instruments by 23.5% during the 4th quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 246,377 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $25,719,000 after acquiring an additional 46,859 shares during the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. grew its position in MKS Instruments by 63.9% during the 4th quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 572 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $60,000 after acquiring an additional 223 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in MKS Instruments by 34.8% during the 4th quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 3,883 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $405,000 after acquiring an additional 1,003 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its position in MKS Instruments by 3.3% during the 4th quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 8,952 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $934,000 after acquiring an additional 286 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.79% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Benchmark decreased their price target on MKS Instruments from $142.00 to $135.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased 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. Needham & Company LLC decreased their price objective on MKS Instruments from $145.00 to $140.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on MKS Instruments from $93.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded MKS Instruments from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $110.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $134.92.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other MKS Instruments news, Director Elizabeth Mora sold 275 shares of MKS Instruments stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.46, for a total transaction of $25,426.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.57% of the company's stock.

MKS Instruments Trading Down 1.3%

Shares of MKSI stock traded down $1.07 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $83.82. The company had a trading volume of 767,566 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,056,483. The company has a 50 day moving average of $76.58 and a 200 day moving average of $96.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.93, a current ratio of 3.19 and a quick ratio of 2.04. The firm has a market cap of $5.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 29.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.80. MKS Instruments, Inc. has a 1-year low of $54.84 and a 1-year high of $147.40.

MKS Instruments (NASDAQ:MKSI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.29. The company had revenue of $936.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $913.59 million. MKS Instruments had a return on equity of 18.94% and a net margin of 5.30%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.18 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that MKS Instruments, Inc. will post 6.94 EPS for the current year.

MKS Instruments Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 27th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.05%. MKS Instruments's dividend payout ratio is presently 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.