Needham Investment Management LLC Has $13.47 Million Position in MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI)

Needham Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) by 3.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 129,000 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,500 shares during the period. Needham Investment Management LLC owned about 0.19% of MKS Instruments worth $13,466,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in MKSI. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its position in shares of MKS Instruments by 68.6% during the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 263 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in MKS Instruments during the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. TD Private Client Wealth LLC bought a new position in MKS Instruments during the 4th quarter valued at about $39,000. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in MKS Instruments by 424.1% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 414 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 335 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd lifted its holdings in MKS Instruments by 24,900.0% during the 4th quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 500 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $52,000 after purchasing an additional 498 shares during the last quarter. 99.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MKS Instruments Trading Up 13.4%

MKSI opened at $90.75 on Tuesday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $75.57 and its two-hundred day moving average is $97.07. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.93, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a current ratio of 3.19. The firm has a market cap of $6.12 billion, a PE ratio of 32.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.80. MKS Instruments, Inc. has a twelve month low of $54.84 and a twelve month high of $147.40.

MKS Instruments (NASDAQ:MKSI) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, May 7th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.71 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.42 by $0.29. The company had revenue of $936.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $913.59 million. MKS Instruments had a net margin of 5.30% and a return on equity of 18.94%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.18 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that MKS Instruments, Inc. will post 6.94 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at MKS Instruments

In other news, Director Elizabeth Mora sold 275 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.46, for a total transaction of $25,426.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 17,384 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,607,324.64. This represents a 1.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Gerard G. Colella sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $104.53, for a total transaction of $836,240.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 60,017 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,273,577.01. This represents a 11.76% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.57% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MKSI. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of MKS Instruments from $85.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Benchmark cut their price target on shares of MKS Instruments from $142.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of MKS Instruments from $128.00 to $129.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $140.00 price target on shares of MKS Instruments in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC dropped their target price on shares of MKS Instruments from $145.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $135.17.

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.