Hilton Capital Management LLC Boosts Stock Position in MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI)

Hilton Capital Management LLC increased its position in MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) by 4.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 17,873 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after acquiring an additional 834 shares during the quarter. Hilton Capital Management LLC’s holdings in MKS Instruments were worth $1,866,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position 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 valued at $322,386,000 after purchasing an additional 35,256 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in MKS Instruments by 10.4% in 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 buying an additional 237,979 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in MKS Instruments by 3.5% during 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 acquiring an additional 65,200 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in MKS Instruments by 4.6% during the third 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 acquiring an additional 51,519 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its stake in shares of MKS Instruments by 108.6% in the third 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. Institutional investors own 99.79% of the company’s stock.

MKS Instruments Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MKSI opened at $81.24 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.93, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a current ratio of 3.19. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $105.26 and its 200 day moving average is $107.58. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.47 billion, a PE ratio of 29.01, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.76. MKS Instruments, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $76.37 and a fifty-two week high of $147.40.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.92 by $0.23. MKS Instruments had a net margin of 5.30% and a return on equity of 18.94%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that MKS Instruments, Inc. will post 6.94 earnings per share for the current year.

MKS Instruments Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th were issued a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.08%. MKS Instruments’s payout ratio is 31.43%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Elizabeth Mora sold 275 shares of the company’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 transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Gerard G. Colella sold 8,000 shares of MKS Instruments stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.53, for a total transaction of $836,240.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 60,017 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,273,577.01. The trade was a 11.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.51% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MKSI. Citigroup raised MKS Instruments from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of MKS Instruments in a research note on Friday, December 13th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $145.00 target price for the company. Needham & Company LLC decreased their price target on shares of MKS Instruments from $156.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $140.00 target price on shares of MKS Instruments in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Benchmark decreased their target price on MKS Instruments from $142.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, MKS Instruments presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.