Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Invests $1.82 Million in MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System purchased a new position in MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 17,700 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,821,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Covestor Ltd increased its holdings in MKS Instruments by 19.1% during the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 692 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $104,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the period. Belpointe Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in MKS Instruments by 73.5% during the 1st quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 295 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. Eqis Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in MKS Instruments by 4.7% during the 1st quarter. Eqis Capital Management Inc. now owns 2,811 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $422,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares during the period. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina increased its holdings in MKS Instruments by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 29,144 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $2,522,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the period. Finally, Scotia Capital Inc. increased its holdings in MKS Instruments by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Scotia Capital Inc. now owns 7,261 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $628,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the period. 99.79% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at MKS Instruments

In other news, CFO Seth H. Bagshaw sold 32,865 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.28, for a total value of $4,051,597.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 1 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $123.28. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other MKS Instruments news, Director Gerard G. Colella sold 10,000 shares of MKS Instruments stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $120.00, for a total transaction of $1,200,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 68,017 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,162,040. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Seth H. Bagshaw sold 32,865 shares of MKS Instruments stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.28, for a total value of $4,051,597.20. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 1 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $123.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 60,776 shares of company stock valued at $7,326,307 in the last quarter. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

MKS Instruments Stock Down 2.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ MKSI opened at $112.09 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 3.18, a quick ratio of 2.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.52 billion, a PE ratio of -4.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.96 and a beta of 1.67. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $124.63 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $101.38. MKS Instruments, Inc. has a 12-month low of $63.44 and a 12-month high of $135.51.

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

MKS Instruments Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 26th were given a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 23rd. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.79%. MKS Instruments’s payout ratio is -3.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on MKSI. KeyCorp raised their price objective on MKS Instruments from $115.00 to $140.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. Needham & Company LLC raised their price objective on MKS Instruments from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. StockNews.com raised MKS Instruments from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. TheStreet raised MKS Instruments from a “d+” rating to a “c-” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on MKS Instruments from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, MKS Instruments has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $128.75.

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.