MKS Instruments (NASDAQ:MKSI) Price Target Increased to $120.00 by Analysts at Wells Fargo & Company

MKS Instruments (NASDAQ:MKSI) had its price objective boosted by Wells Fargo & Company from $115.00 to $120.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday morning, Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an equal weight rating on the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the company. KeyCorp lifted their price target on MKS Instruments from $115.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of MKS Instruments from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Needham & Company LLC lifted their target price on shares of MKS Instruments from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. TheStreet raised shares of MKS Instruments from a d+ rating to a c- rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Finally, Benchmark lifted their target price on MKS Instruments from $85.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $123.00.

MKS Instruments Trading Down 1.9 %

Shares of MKSI stock opened at $130.05 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $121.29 and its 200-day moving average price is $98.34. The stock has a market cap of $8.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -4.72, a PEG ratio of 4.37 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a current ratio of 3.18, a quick ratio of 2.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90. MKS Instruments has a twelve month low of $63.44 and a twelve month high of $135.51.

MKS Instruments (NASDAQ:MKSI) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 7th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.17 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.89 by $0.28. MKS Instruments had a positive return on equity of 9.95% and a negative net margin of 50.80%. The firm had revenue of $893.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $845.25 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.00 EPS. MKS Instruments’s revenue for the quarter was down 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that MKS Instruments will post 4.54 earnings per share for the current year.

MKS Instruments Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 26th were paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 23rd. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.68%. MKS Instruments’s payout ratio is currently -3.19%.

Insider Transactions at MKS Instruments

In other MKS Instruments news, Director Elizabeth Mora sold 250 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.00, for a total transaction of $33,250.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 16,862 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,242,646. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other MKS Instruments news, Director Elizabeth Mora sold 250 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.00, for a total transaction of $33,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 16,862 shares in the company, valued at $2,242,646. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Seth H. Bagshaw sold 32,865 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.28, for a total transaction of $4,051,597.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 1 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $123.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 60,776 shares of company stock valued at $7,326,307. 0.69% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MKS Instruments

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MKSI. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in shares of MKS Instruments by 69.9% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 8,084,331 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $831,636,000 after purchasing an additional 3,324,764 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in MKS Instruments in the 4th quarter worth $117,672,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of MKS Instruments by 16.4% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,129,843 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $506,570,000 after buying an additional 864,178 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in shares of MKS Instruments by 2,071.7% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 880,884 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $90,432,000 after purchasing an additional 840,322 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Westfield Capital Management Co. LP purchased a new position in shares of MKS Instruments in the 4th quarter worth $60,664,000. 99.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.