Comerica Bank Has $2.70 Million Position in MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI)

Comerica Bank raised its holdings in MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) by 9.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 25,873 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,313 shares during the quarter. Comerica Bank’s holdings in MKS Instruments were worth $2,701,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of MKS Instruments by 54.0% in the 4th quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 20,411 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $2,131,000 after purchasing an additional 7,154 shares during the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of MKS Instruments by 20.4% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 608,382 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $63,509,000 after buying an additional 103,257 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its stake in shares of MKS Instruments by 33.4% during the 4th quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 491,497 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $51,307,000 after acquiring an additional 123,056 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP increased its holdings in shares of MKS Instruments by 1,330.9% during the 4th quarter. Quarry LP now owns 787 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $82,000 after acquiring an additional 732 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aquatic Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of MKS Instruments by 40.3% in the 4th quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC now owns 23,283 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $2,431,000 after acquiring an additional 6,683 shares in the last quarter. 99.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at MKS Instruments

In other MKS Instruments 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 transaction of $25,426.50. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 17,384 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,607,324.64. This represents a 1.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Gerard G. Colella sold 8,000 shares of MKS Instruments 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $6,273,577.01. This trade represents a 11.76 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.51% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Morgan Stanley lowered 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. Benchmark dropped their target price on shares of 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 reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $140.00 price target on shares of MKS Instruments in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on MKS Instruments from $128.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lowered their target price 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 given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $140.08.

MKS Instruments Price Performance

Shares of MKS Instruments stock opened at $77.29 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $5.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.80. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $75.58 and its 200-day simple moving average is $97.31. MKS Instruments, Inc. has a twelve month low of $54.84 and a twelve month high of $147.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.93, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a current ratio of 3.19.

MKS Instruments (NASDAQ:MKSI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.71 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.29. The company had revenue of $936.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $913.59 million. MKS Instruments had a return on equity of 18.94% and a net margin of 5.30%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.18 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that MKS Instruments, Inc. will post 6.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MKS Instruments Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 24th were paid 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 1.14%. MKS Instruments’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.