Natixis Advisors LLC Has $29.57 Million Position in MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI)

Natixis Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) by 208.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 283,243 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after acquiring an additional 191,561 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC owned about 0.42% of MKS Instruments worth $29,568,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MKSI. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. lifted its holdings in MKS Instruments by 4.7% during the 4th quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 2,143 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $224,000 after purchasing an additional 97 shares during the last quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System lifted its holdings in MKS Instruments by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Louisiana State Employees Retirement System now owns 18,700 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $1,952,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in MKS Instruments by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 2,068 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $216,000 after purchasing an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in MKS Instruments by 68.6% during the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 263 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its holdings in MKS Instruments by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 8,729 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $949,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares during the last quarter. 99.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on MKSI shares. Citigroup raised shares of MKS Instruments from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 price target for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of MKS Instruments in a report on Friday, December 13th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $145.00 price target for the company. Benchmark cut their price target on shares of MKS Instruments from $142.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of MKS Instruments from $128.00 to $129.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on shares of MKS Instruments from $150.00 to $147.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Three 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 data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $140.08.

Insider Activity at MKS Instruments

In related news, Director Gerard G. Colella sold 8,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $104.53, for a total transaction of $836,240.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now 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 this link. Also, Director Elizabeth Mora sold 275 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.46, for a total transaction of $25,426.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 17,384 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,607,324.64. This represents a 1.56 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

MKS Instruments Trading Up 3.0 %

MKSI opened at $88.91 on Tuesday. 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 $5.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.75. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $103.81 and a 200 day simple moving average of $106.84. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $2.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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%. 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 company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th were issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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.