Great Lakes Advisors LLC Purchases 32,597 Shares of MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI)

Great Lakes Advisors LLC grew its stake in MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) by 22.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 177,491 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after purchasing an additional 32,597 shares during the quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.26% of MKS Instruments worth $18,528,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Truvestments Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of MKS Instruments by 8.5% in the fourth quarter. Truvestments Capital LLC now owns 2,562 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $267,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP lifted its holdings in shares of MKS Instruments by 30.9% in the fourth quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 877,040 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $91,554,000 after purchasing an additional 207,165 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its holdings in shares of MKS Instruments by 12.5% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 16,091 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $1,680,000 after purchasing an additional 1,784 shares in the last quarter. Dundas Partners LLP lifted its holdings in shares of MKS Instruments by 10.3% in the fourth quarter. Dundas Partners LLP now owns 2,198 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $229,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Amundi lifted its holdings in shares of MKS Instruments by 210.5% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 278,950 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $31,008,000 after purchasing an additional 189,125 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.79% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MKSI. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on MKS Instruments from $128.00 to $129.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Benchmark dropped their price target on MKS Instruments from $142.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $140.00 price target on shares of MKS Instruments in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on MKS Instruments from $150.00 to $147.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC dropped their price target 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 investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $140.08.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Gerard G. Colella sold 8,000 shares of MKS Instruments 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 60,017 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Elizabeth Mora sold 275 shares of MKS Instruments stock in a transaction on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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. 0.51% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

MKS Instruments Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MKSI opened at $81.02 on Thursday. 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 business has a fifty day simple moving average of $105.26 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $107.58. MKS Instruments, Inc. has a 1 year low of $76.37 and a 1 year high of $147.40. The company has a market capitalization of $5.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.94, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.76.

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

MKS Instruments Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 24th were given a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.09%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 24th. MKS Instruments’s dividend payout ratio 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.