Renaissance Technologies LLC Acquires New Stake in MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI)

Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 125,403 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,091,000.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of MKS Instruments by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,445,956 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $777,283,000 after acquiring an additional 97,392 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in 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 valued at $322,386,000 after purchasing an additional 35,256 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in shares of MKS Instruments by 10.4% in 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 buying an additional 237,979 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of MKS Instruments by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,291,478 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $239,207,000 after acquiring an additional 6,715 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in MKS Instruments by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,231,467 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $232,943,000 after acquiring an additional 6,964 shares during the last quarter. 99.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on MKSI. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $140.00 target price on shares of MKS Instruments in a report on Thursday, February 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on MKS Instruments from $128.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Benchmark lowered their target price on shares of MKS Instruments from $142.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Citigroup upgraded shares of MKS Instruments from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 price target for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of MKS Instruments from $150.00 to $147.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock 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 given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $140.08.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other MKS Instruments news, 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 60,017 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,273,577.01. This represents a 11.76 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Elizabeth Mora sold 275 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.46, for a total value of $25,426.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 17,384 shares in the company, valued at $1,607,324.64. The trade was a 1.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.46% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

MKS Instruments Trading Down 1.9 %

Shares of MKSI stock opened at $67.18 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.93, a current ratio of 3.19 and a quick ratio of 2.04. The company has a market cap of $4.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 23.99, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.81. MKS Instruments, Inc. has a 1 year low of $54.84 and a 1 year high of $147.40. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $86.54 and a 200-day moving average price of $101.47.

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 (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, equities analysts predict that MKS Instruments, Inc. will post 6.94 earnings per share for the current year.

MKS Instruments Dividend Announcement

The company 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. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.31%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. MKS Instruments’s payout ratio is 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.