Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Increases Stake in MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its stake in shares of MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) by 12.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 16,091 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,784 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in MKS Instruments were worth $1,680,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of MKS Instruments by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,088,283 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $322,386,000 after acquiring an additional 35,256 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in shares of MKS Instruments by 10.4% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,525,037 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $265,874,000 after acquiring an additional 237,979 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of MKS Instruments by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,954,881 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $212,515,000 after acquiring an additional 65,200 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of MKS Instruments by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,172,517 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $127,496,000 after acquiring an additional 51,519 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in shares of MKS Instruments by 108.6% during 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 acquiring an additional 530,620 shares during the period. 99.79% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Gerard G. Colella sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.53, for a total transaction of $836,240.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 60,017 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,273,577.01. This represents a 11.76 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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 owns 17,384 shares in the company, valued at $1,607,324.64. This trade represents a 1.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently issued reports on MKSI. Benchmark dropped their target price on shares of MKS Instruments from $142.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $140.00 target price on shares of MKS Instruments in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley dropped 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 report on Friday, February 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of MKS Instruments in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $145.00 target price for the company. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of MKS Instruments from $128.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, MKS Instruments presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $140.08.

MKS Instruments Stock Up 3.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ:MKSI opened at $88.91 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.75. The company has a quick ratio of 2.04, a current ratio of 3.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.93. The company has a 50 day moving average of $103.81 and a two-hundred day moving average of $106.84. MKS Instruments, Inc. has a 52-week low of $76.37 and a 52-week high of $147.40.

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

MKS Instruments Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th were paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.99%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. MKS Instruments’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.43%.

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.