MKS Instruments (NASDAQ:MKSI) Research Coverage Started at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of MKS Instruments (NASDAQ:MKSI) in a report released on Friday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage issued an overweight rating and a $145.00 price target on the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on MKSI. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on 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. Mizuho upgraded shares of MKS Instruments to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on shares of MKS Instruments in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 target price for the company. Citigroup downgraded shares of MKS Instruments from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $145.00 to $120.00 in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of MKS Instruments in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $129.00 price objective for the company. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $141.42.

MKS Instruments Trading Down 0.3 %

NASDAQ:MKSI opened at $112.55 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 250.11, a PEG ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.65. MKS Instruments has a 1 year low of $90.90 and a 1 year high of $147.40. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $108.65 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $116.88. 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 posted 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. The company had revenue of $896.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $874.29 million. MKS Instruments had a return on equity of 15.79% and a net margin of 0.90%. MKS Instruments’s revenue was down 3.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.46 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that MKS Instruments will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MKS Instruments Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 25th were given a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 25th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.78%. MKS Instruments’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 195.56%.

Insider Activity at MKS Instruments

In related news, Director Jacqueline F. Moloney sold 250 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.90, for a total value of $27,225.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 10,283 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,119,818.70. This represents a 2.37 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Elizabeth Mora sold 275 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.41, for a total transaction of $31,187.75. Following the sale, the director now owns 17,659 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,002,707.19. This represents a 1.53 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 825 shares of company stock valued at $92,853. Insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MKSI. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 530,620 shares in the last quarter. Shellback Capital LP acquired a new position in shares of MKS Instruments in the second quarter valued at approximately $34,541,000. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in MKS Instruments by 219.5% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 348,024 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $45,445,000 after buying an additional 239,099 shares during the last quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP bought a new position in MKS Instruments in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $21,690,000. Finally, Mizuho Markets Americas LLC acquired a new stake in MKS Instruments during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $23,171,000. Institutional investors own 99.79% of the company’s stock.

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.