Ceredex Value Advisors LLC Acquires Shares of 204,650 MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI)

Ceredex Value Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor acquired 204,650 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock, valued at approximately $21,052,000. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC owned about 0.31% of MKS Instruments as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in MKS Instruments by 2.8% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,853,896 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $593,136,000 after purchasing an additional 187,884 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of MKS Instruments by 5.5% during the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,642,162 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $696,324,000 after acquiring an additional 241,134 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of MKS Instruments by 10.8% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,464,620 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $299,828,000 after acquiring an additional 338,347 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in MKS Instruments by 25.6% during the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,881,747 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $166,762,000 after buying an additional 383,717 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp increased its holdings in MKS Instruments by 1.5% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,634,055 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $176,641,000 after buying an additional 23,936 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 99.79% of the company's stock.

MKS Instruments Price Performance

NASDAQ MKSI traded down $0.12 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $128.44. 565,684 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 643,252. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90, a current ratio of 3.18 and a quick ratio of 2.01. The company has a market capitalization of $8.61 billion, a PE ratio of -4.66, a PEG ratio of 4.23 and a beta of 1.67. The firm's 50-day moving average is $122.67 and its 200-day moving average is $99.54. MKS Instruments, Inc. has a 52-week low of $63.44 and a 52-week high of $135.51.

MKS Instruments (NASDAQ:MKSI - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.17 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $893.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $845.25 million. MKS Instruments had a negative net margin of 50.80% and a positive return on equity of 9.95%. MKS Instruments's revenue was down 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.00 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that MKS Instruments, Inc. will post 4.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MKS Instruments Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 26th were issued a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 23rd. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.69%. MKS Instruments's payout ratio is -3.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling at MKS Instruments

In other MKS Instruments news, Director Elizabeth Mora sold 250 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.00, for a total value of $33,250.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,862 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,242,646. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CFO Seth H. Bagshaw sold 32,865 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.28, for a total value of $4,051,597.20. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 1 shares in the company, valued at approximately $123.28. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Elizabeth Mora sold 250 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.00, for a total transaction of $33,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 16,862 shares in the company, valued at $2,242,646. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 60,776 shares of company stock worth $7,326,307 in the last ninety days. 0.51% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on MKSI shares. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on shares of MKS Instruments from $115.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price objective on shares of MKS Instruments from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of MKS Instruments from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Benchmark raised their target price on shares of MKS Instruments from $85.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of MKS Instruments from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, MKS Instruments currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $123.00.

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.