Graham Capital Management L.P. Has $951,000 Stake in MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI)

Graham Capital Management L.P. boosted its position in shares of MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) by 39.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,110 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after buying an additional 2,558 shares during the period. Graham Capital Management L.P.’s holdings in MKS Instruments were worth $951,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ellevest Inc. grew its stake in MKS Instruments by 7.3% during the fourth quarter. Ellevest Inc. now owns 8,633 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $901,000 after buying an additional 585 shares in the last quarter. Ethic Inc. grew its stake in MKS Instruments by 68.6% during the fourth quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 16,667 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $1,740,000 after buying an additional 6,779 shares in the last quarter. Expect Equity LLC acquired a new stake in MKS Instruments during the fourth quarter worth about $3,422,000. Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC boosted its stake in shares of MKS Instruments by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC now owns 363,428 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $37,938,000 after purchasing an additional 5,606 shares in the last quarter. Finally, D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. boosted its stake in shares of MKS Instruments by 158.5% in the 4th quarter. D. E. Shaw & Co. Inc. now owns 367,437 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $38,357,000 after purchasing an additional 225,285 shares in the last quarter. 99.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MKSI. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of MKS Instruments from $128.00 to $129.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Benchmark reduced their price target on shares of MKS Instruments from $142.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $140.00 price target on shares of MKS Instruments in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Needham & Company LLC reduced their price target on shares of MKS Instruments from $145.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of MKS Instruments from $85.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $135.17.

MKS Instruments Stock Up 2.8%

NASDAQ:MKSI opened at $93.32 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $75.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $97.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.93, a current ratio of 3.19 and a quick ratio of 2.04. MKS Instruments, Inc. has a one year low of $54.84 and a one year high of $147.40. The company has a market cap of $6.29 billion, a PE ratio of 33.33, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.80.

MKS Instruments (NASDAQ:MKSI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.42 by $0.29. MKS Instruments had a net margin of 5.30% and a return on equity of 18.94%. The firm had revenue of $936.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $913.59 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.18 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th will be issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.94%. MKS Instruments’s payout ratio is 26.27%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other MKS Instruments news, Director Gerard G. Colella sold 8,000 shares of the firm’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. This trade represents a 11.76% decrease in their position. The transaction 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 firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 3rd. The stock was 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. The trade was a 1.56% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

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.