Atria Investments Inc Sells 683 Shares of MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI)

Atria Investments Inc lessened its position in shares of MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) by 12.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 4,627 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 683 shares during the period. Atria Investments Inc’s holdings in MKS Instruments were worth $483,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System grew its holdings in shares of MKS Instruments by 0.5% in the 4th quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 18,700 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $1,952,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of MKS Instruments by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 2,068 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $216,000 after acquiring an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its holdings in shares of MKS Instruments by 68.6% in the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 263 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of MKS Instruments by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 8,729 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $949,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of MKS Instruments by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,950 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $308,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.79% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MKSI has been the subject of several analyst reports. Benchmark decreased their price objective on MKS Instruments from $142.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of MKS Instruments in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $145.00 target price for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $140.00 target price on shares of MKS Instruments in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of MKS Instruments from $150.00 to $147.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of MKS Instruments from $128.00 to $129.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $140.08.

MKS Instruments Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MKSI opened at $86.32 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $104.32 and its 200 day simple moving average is $107.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $5.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.93, a current ratio of 3.19 and a quick ratio of 2.04. MKS Instruments, Inc. has a 1 year low of $76.37 and a 1 year high of $147.40.

MKS Instruments (NASDAQ:MKSI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $2.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.92 by $0.23. MKS Instruments had a net margin of 5.30% and a return on equity of 18.94%. As a group, research analysts predict that MKS Instruments, Inc. will post 6.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MKS Instruments Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th were paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.02%. MKS Instruments’s payout ratio is presently 31.43%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Gerard G. Colella sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.53, for a total value of $836,240.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 60,017 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,273,577.01. The trade was a 11.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Elizabeth Mora sold 275 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.46, for a total value of $25,426.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 17,384 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,607,324.64. This represents a 1.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.51% of the company’s stock.

MKS Instruments Company 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.