Quantinno Capital Management LP Purchases 13,739 Shares of MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI)

Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its position in MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) by 196.4% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 20,734 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,739 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP’s holdings in MKS Instruments were worth $2,164,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MKSI. Prudential Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of MKS Instruments by 772.7% during the fourth quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 61,447 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $6,481,000 after acquiring an additional 54,406 shares during the last quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC grew its stake in MKS Instruments by 25.5% in the 4th quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 35,069 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $3,650,000 after purchasing an additional 7,136 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group purchased a new stake in shares of MKS Instruments during the 4th quarter valued at $1,480,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of MKS Instruments during the 4th quarter valued at $85,451,000. Finally, Tributary Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of MKS Instruments by 65.0% during the 4th quarter. Tributary Capital Management LLC now owns 8,751 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $914,000 after purchasing an additional 3,447 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 99.79% of the company’s stock.

MKS Instruments Trading Up 1.2%

NASDAQ:MKSI opened at $89.56 on Wednesday. MKS Instruments, Inc. has a 1 year low of $54.84 and a 1 year high of $147.40. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $76.76 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $96.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.93, a current ratio of 3.19 and a quick ratio of 2.04. The company has a market cap of $6.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.80.

MKS Instruments (NASDAQ:MKSI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.29. MKS Instruments had a return on equity of 18.94% and a net margin of 5.30%. The business had revenue of $936.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $913.59 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.18 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that MKS Instruments, Inc. will post 6.94 EPS for the current year.

MKS Instruments Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 27th. MKS Instruments’s payout ratio is 26.27%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Elizabeth Mora sold 275 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director now owns 17,384 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,607,324.64. This represents a 1.56% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.57% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of MKS Instruments from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $110.00 price target for the company in a research report on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of MKS Instruments from $128.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Benchmark lowered their price target on shares of MKS Instruments from $142.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. Needham & Company LLC reduced their price objective on MKS Instruments from $145.00 to $140.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, May 9th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on MKS Instruments from $85.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, MKS Instruments has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $134.33.

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.