Venturi Wealth Management LLC Grows Position in MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI)

Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) by 23.6% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,809 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after acquiring an additional 537 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in MKS Instruments were worth $305,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC purchased a new stake in MKS Instruments during the first quarter valued at $25,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its position in shares of MKS Instruments by 9.3% during the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 9,522 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $1,266,000 after buying an additional 807 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of MKS Instruments by 22.7% in the 1st quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 10,694 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $1,422,000 after acquiring an additional 1,980 shares during the last quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP grew its position in MKS Instruments by 5.1% in the first quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 620,063 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $82,468,000 after acquiring an additional 30,348 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bessemer Group Inc. increased its stake in MKS Instruments by 7.1% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 78,093 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $10,387,000 after acquiring an additional 5,184 shares during the last quarter. 99.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MKSI has been the topic of several analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on MKS Instruments from $140.00 to $120.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 9th. Cantor Fitzgerald assumed coverage on shares of MKS Instruments in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of MKS Instruments in a report on Monday, August 5th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $155.00 price target on the stock. Mizuho upgraded MKS Instruments to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Citigroup downgraded MKS Instruments from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $145.00 to $120.00 in a report on Monday, September 16th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $141.09.

MKS Instruments Stock Performance

Shares of MKSI stock opened at $112.91 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $106.64 and its 200 day moving average is $119.02. The company has a quick ratio of 2.31, a current ratio of 3.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98. The firm has a market cap of $7.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 250.91, a PEG ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 1.63. MKS Instruments, Inc. has a 52-week low of $69.01 and a 52-week high of $147.40.

MKS Instruments (NASDAQ:MKSI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.72 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.45 by $0.27. MKS Instruments had a return on equity of 15.79% and a net margin of 0.90%. The firm had revenue of $896.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $874.29 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.46 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that MKS Instruments, Inc. will post 5.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MKS Instruments Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 25th will be given a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, November 25th. MKS Instruments’s payout ratio is currently 195.56%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other MKS Instruments news, EVP John Edward Williams sold 1,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.71, for a total value of $213,678.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 13 shares in the company, valued at $1,543.23. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other MKS Instruments news, EVP John Edward Williams sold 1,800 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.71, for a total value of $213,678.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 13 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,543.23. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Elizabeth Mora sold 275 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.97, for a total transaction of $31,891.75. Following the transaction, the director now owns 17,934 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,079,805.98. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 2,325 shares of company stock worth $272,795 in the last 90 days. 0.46% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.