Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC Purchases 11,779 Shares of MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI)

Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC lifted its position in MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) by 4.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 259,831 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after buying an additional 11,779 shares during the period. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC’s holdings in MKS Instruments were worth $27,124,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of MKS Instruments by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,445,956 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $777,283,000 after buying an additional 97,392 shares in the last quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of MKS Instruments by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,088,283 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $322,386,000 after buying an additional 35,256 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of MKS Instruments by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 2,291,478 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $239,207,000 after buying an additional 6,715 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in shares of MKS Instruments by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,231,467 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $232,943,000 after buying an additional 6,964 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of MKS Instruments by 108.6% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,019,134 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $110,789,000 after buying an additional 530,620 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.79% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Elizabeth Mora sold 275 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.46, for a total value of $25,426.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 17,384 shares in the company, valued at $1,607,324.64. This trade represents a 1.56% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Gerard G. Colella sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.57% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on MKSI. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price objective on shares of MKS Instruments from $145.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $140.00 target price on shares of MKS Instruments in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on MKS Instruments from $85.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, May 9th. Benchmark lowered their target price on MKS Instruments from $142.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on MKS Instruments from $128.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Three 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $135.17.

MKS Instruments Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MKSI opened at $90.66 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.38, a PEG ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.80. The business has a 50-day moving average of $76.45 and a 200-day moving average of $96.85. 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 fifty-two week low of $54.84 and a fifty-two week high of $147.40.

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

MKS Instruments Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 6th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th will be issued a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 27th. MKS Instruments’s payout ratio is 26.27%.

About MKS Instruments

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.