Phocas Financial Corp. Decreases Position in MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI)

Phocas Financial Corp. lessened its stake in MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) by 85.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,846 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 27,372 shares during the quarter. Phocas Financial Corp.’s holdings in MKS Instruments were worth $506,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in shares of MKS Instruments by 58.0% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 433 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $45,000 after buying an additional 159 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in MKS Instruments by 424.1% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 414 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 335 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in MKS Instruments in the 3rd quarter valued at about $50,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new stake in MKS Instruments in the 3rd quarter valued at about $57,000. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in MKS Instruments by 63.9% during the fourth quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 572 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 223 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.79% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. 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. Benchmark reduced their price objective on shares of MKS Instruments from $142.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on MKS Instruments in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $145.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on MKS Instruments from $150.00 to $147.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC dropped their price objective on MKS Instruments from $156.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, MKS Instruments currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $140.08.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other MKS Instruments news, Director Jacqueline F. Moloney sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $114.80, for a total transaction of $34,440.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 9,983 shares in the company, valued at $1,146,048.40. This trade represents a 2.92 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Elizabeth Mora sold 275 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $113.41, for a total transaction of $31,187.75. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 17,659 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,002,707.19. The trade was a 1.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 8,575 shares of company stock valued at $901,868 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

MKS Instruments Stock Performance

Shares of MKSI opened at $96.11 on Wednesday. MKS Instruments, Inc. has a 12-month low of $95.61 and a 12-month high of $147.40. The company has a current ratio of 3.19, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.93. The company has a market cap of $6.47 billion, a PE ratio of 34.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.66. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $109.53 and a 200-day moving average price of $109.97.

MKS Instruments (NASDAQ:MKSI) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $2.15 earnings per share 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, equities analysts forecast that MKS Instruments, Inc. will post 6.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MKS Instruments Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th will be given a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 24th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.92%. 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.