Xponance Inc. Has $865,000 Holdings in MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI)

Xponance Inc. raised its position in MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) by 7.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 8,286 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after purchasing an additional 592 shares during the quarter. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in MKS Instruments were worth $865,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MKSI. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in MKS Instruments by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,088,283 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $322,386,000 after buying an additional 35,256 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in MKS Instruments by 10.4% during the fourth 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 purchasing an additional 237,979 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in MKS Instruments by 3.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,954,881 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $212,515,000 after purchasing an additional 65,200 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in MKS Instruments by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,172,517 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $127,496,000 after buying an additional 51,519 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its position in 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 buying an additional 530,620 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 company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.46, for a total transaction of $25,426.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 17,384 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,607,324.64. This represents a 1.56 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gerard G. Colella sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.53, for a total value of $836,240.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 60,017 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,273,577.01. This trade represents a 11.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

MKS Instruments Trading Up 3.7 %

Shares of MKSI stock opened at $91.45 on Tuesday. MKS Instruments, Inc. has a 12-month low of $76.37 and a 12-month high of $147.40. The company has a market capitalization of $6.16 billion, a PE ratio of 32.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.75. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $101.72 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $106.04. The company has a quick ratio of 2.04, a current ratio of 3.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.93.

MKS Instruments (NASDAQ:MKSI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $2.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 predict that MKS Instruments, Inc. will post 6.94 earnings per share for the current year.

MKS Instruments Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th were paid a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.96%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. MKS Instruments’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.43%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on MKSI. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $140.00 price objective on shares of MKS Instruments in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on MKS Instruments from $150.00 to $147.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Citigroup raised shares of MKS Instruments from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of MKS Instruments in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $145.00 price target on the stock. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of MKS Instruments from $128.00 to $129.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued 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 $140.08.

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.