Strs Ohio Sells 12,882 Shares of MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI)

Strs Ohio reduced its position in shares of MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI - Free Report) by 13.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 82,532 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after selling 12,882 shares during the period. Strs Ohio owned about 0.12% of MKS Instruments worth $8,490,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings in shares of MKS Instruments by 240.6% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,498,030 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $126,928,000 after purchasing an additional 1,058,245 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of MKS Instruments during the fourth quarter valued at $74,360,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of MKS Instruments by 16.4% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,129,843 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $506,570,000 after purchasing an additional 864,178 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in shares of MKS Instruments by 2,071.7% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 880,884 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $90,432,000 after purchasing an additional 840,322 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC increased its holdings 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 valued at $299,828,000 after purchasing an additional 338,347 shares during the period. 99.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com raised MKS Instruments from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Benchmark raised their target price on MKS Instruments from $85.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on MKS Instruments from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. KeyCorp raised their target price on MKS Instruments from $115.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Finally, TheStreet raised MKS Instruments from a "d+" rating to a "c-" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three 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 price target of $128.75.

MKS Instruments Trading Down 2.4 %

MKSI traded down $2.71 during trading on Thursday, reaching $112.09. The company had a trading volume of 705,264 shares, compared to its average volume of 642,460. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $124.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $101.31. The company has a market cap of $7.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.17, a PEG ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 1.67. MKS Instruments, Inc. has a 12-month low of $63.44 and a 12-month high of $135.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 2.01 and a current ratio of 3.18.

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

MKS Instruments Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 26th were paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 23rd. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.79%. MKS Instruments's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -3.19%.

Insider Buying and Selling at MKS Instruments

In other MKS Instruments news, Director Elizabeth Mora sold 250 shares of MKS Instruments stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.00, for a total transaction of $33,250.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 16,862 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,242,646. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other MKS Instruments news, Director Elizabeth Mora sold 250 shares of MKS Instruments stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.00, for a total transaction of $33,250.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 16,862 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,242,646. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Seth H. Bagshaw sold 32,865 shares of MKS Instruments stock in a transaction dated 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 60,776 shares of company stock valued at $7,326,307 in the last 90 days. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.