Capstone Investment Advisors LLC Purchases Shares of 21,919 MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI)

Capstone Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund purchased 21,919 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,383,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV lifted its holdings in shares of MKS Instruments by 196.9% in the third quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 288 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. Key Financial Inc purchased a new stake in shares of MKS Instruments in the second quarter worth about $39,000. Quarry LP purchased a new position in MKS Instruments during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $39,000. BOKF NA bought a new stake in MKS Instruments in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $39,000. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of MKS Instruments by 62.6% during the 2nd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 309 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. 99.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at MKS Instruments

In other news, Director Elizabeth Mora sold 275 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.97, for a total value of $31,891.75. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 17,934 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,079,805.98. This trade represents a 1.51 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Jacqueline F. Moloney sold 250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.90, for a total transaction of $27,225.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 10,283 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,119,818.70. This trade represents a 2.37 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.46% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MKSI has been the subject of several research reports. Citigroup lowered shares of MKS Instruments from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $145.00 to $120.00 in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Mizuho raised shares of MKS Instruments to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on MKS Instruments in a research report on Monday, August 5th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $155.00 price objective on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on MKS Instruments in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of MKS Instruments from $120.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, MKS Instruments presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $141.09.

MKS Instruments Stock Performance

Shares of MKS Instruments stock opened at $112.36 on Friday. MKS Instruments, Inc. has a 12 month low of $78.17 and a 12 month high of $147.40. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $107.34 and its 200-day moving average price is $118.18. The firm has a market cap of $7.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 249.68, a P/E/G ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 1.63. The company has a current ratio of 3.42, a quick ratio of 2.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98.

MKS Instruments (NASDAQ:MKSI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.72 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.45 by $0.27. The firm had revenue of $896.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $874.29 million. MKS Instruments had a net margin of 0.90% and a return on equity of 15.79%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.46 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that MKS Instruments, Inc. will post 6.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MKS Instruments Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Monday, November 25th will be paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 25th. MKS Instruments’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 195.56%.

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.