MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve research firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, seven have assigned a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $141.09.

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on shares of MKS Instruments from $140.00 to $120.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Needham & Company LLC raised their price objective on MKS Instruments from $153.00 to $156.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of MKS Instruments in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $129.00 price objective for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald started coverage on MKS Instruments in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 target price for the company. Finally, Citigroup lowered MKS Instruments from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $145.00 to $120.00 in a research report on Monday, September 16th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Jacqueline F. Moloney sold 250 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 10,283 shares in the company, valued at $1,119,818.70. This represents a 2.37 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Elizabeth Mora sold 275 shares of MKS Instruments stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.97, for a total value of $31,891.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 17,934 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,079,805.98. This represents a 1.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.46% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MKS Instruments

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MKSI. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its position in MKS Instruments by 7.1% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 78,093 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $10,387,000 after purchasing an additional 5,184 shares during the last quarter. Comerica Bank grew its position in MKS Instruments by 29.5% during the first quarter. Comerica Bank now owns 111,923 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $14,886,000 after buying an additional 25,520 shares in the last quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP increased its stake in MKS Instruments by 705.3% during the third quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP now owns 12,547 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $1,364,000 after acquiring an additional 10,989 shares during the period. First Eagle Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in MKS Instruments by 7.6% in the 2nd quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 141,187 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $18,436,000 after acquiring an additional 10,000 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of MKS Instruments in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,599,000. Institutional investors own 99.79% of the company’s stock.

MKS Instruments Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MKSI opened at $113.15 on Wednesday. MKS Instruments has a 1 year low of $77.25 and a 1 year high of $147.40. The firm has a market cap of $7.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 251.44, a PEG ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 1.63. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $107.17 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $118.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98, a quick ratio of 2.21 and a current ratio of 3.42.

MKS Instruments (NASDAQ:MKSI) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.72 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.45 by $0.27. MKS Instruments had a return on equity of 15.79% and a net margin of 0.90%. The business had revenue of $896.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $874.29 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.46 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that MKS Instruments will post 6.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MKS Instruments Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Monday, November 25th will be issued a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 25th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.78%. 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.