Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Cuts Position in MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI)

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lowered its position in shares of MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) by 6.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 8,666 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 597 shares during the quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC’s holdings in MKS Instruments were worth $942,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in MKS Instruments in the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV boosted its position in shares of MKS Instruments by 196.9% in the third quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 288 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 191 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in shares of MKS Instruments by 53.7% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 349 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 122 shares in the last quarter. Key Financial Inc acquired a new stake in shares of MKS Instruments in the second quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, BOKF NA purchased a new stake in shares of MKS Instruments during the 2nd quarter valued at about $39,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.79% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on MKSI. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $142.00 price objective on shares of MKS Instruments in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of MKS Instruments from $120.00 to $110.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of MKS Instruments in a research report on Monday, August 5th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $155.00 price objective for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on MKS Instruments in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. They set a “neutral” rating and a $129.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on MKS Instruments in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 price target for the company. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $141.09.

MKS Instruments Stock Down 6.6 %

MKSI stock opened at $105.48 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $106.81 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $118.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98, a current ratio of 3.42 and a quick ratio of 2.21. MKS Instruments, Inc. has a 1-year low of $75.07 and a 1-year high of $147.40. The firm has a market cap of $7.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 234.40, a PEG ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.63.

MKS Instruments (NASDAQ:MKSI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 6th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.72 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.45 by $0.27. MKS Instruments had a net margin of 0.90% and a return on equity of 15.79%. The firm had revenue of $896.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $874.29 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.46 earnings per share. MKS Instruments’s quarterly revenue was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that MKS Instruments, Inc. will post 6.22 EPS for the current year.

MKS Instruments Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 6th. Investors of record on Monday, November 25th will be issued a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.83%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, November 25th. MKS Instruments’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 195.56%.

Insider Activity at MKS Instruments

In other MKS Instruments news, Director Jacqueline F. Moloney sold 250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.90, for a total value of $27,225.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 10,283 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,119,818.70. This trade represents a 2.37 % 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 Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $115.97, for a total value of $31,891.75. Following the transaction, the director now owns 17,934 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,079,805.98. This represents a 1.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.46% 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.