MKS Instruments (NASDAQ:MKSI) Reaches New 52-Week Low – Here’s Why

MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI)’s stock price reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $80.22 and last traded at $80.36, with a volume of 215846 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $84.89.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MKSI has been the topic of a number of research reports. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price objective on shares of MKS Instruments from $156.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on shares of MKS Instruments in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $145.00 price target on the stock. Benchmark cut their price objective on MKS Instruments from $142.00 to $135.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on MKS Instruments from $150.00 to $147.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $140.00 price target on shares of MKS Instruments in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $140.08.

MKS Instruments Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $5.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.76. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $105.72 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $107.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.93, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a current ratio of 3.19.

MKS Instruments (NASDAQ:MKSI) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $2.15 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.92 by $0.23. MKS Instruments had a return on equity of 18.94% and a net margin of 5.30%. Equities research analysts predict that MKS Instruments, Inc. will post 6.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MKS Instruments Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 7th. Investors of record on Monday, February 24th were paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.10%. MKS Instruments’s payout ratio is currently 31.43%.

Insider Buying and Selling at MKS Instruments

In related news, Director Gerard G. Colella sold 8,000 shares of MKS Instruments 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 sale, the director now directly owns 60,017 shares in the company, valued at $6,273,577.01. The trade was a 11.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Elizabeth Mora sold 275 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.51% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of MKS Instruments

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Aigen Investment Management LP increased its stake in shares of MKS Instruments by 705.3% during the third quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP now owns 12,547 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $1,364,000 after acquiring an additional 10,989 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. boosted its stake in MKS Instruments by 7.3% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 444,333 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $48,303,000 after purchasing an additional 30,216 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in shares of MKS Instruments by 10.4% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,525,037 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $265,874,000 after purchasing an additional 237,979 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in shares of MKS Instruments by 3,444.0% in the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 300,711 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $31,391,000 after buying an additional 292,226 shares in the last quarter. Finally, WCM Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of MKS Instruments by 25.5% in the fourth 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 buying an additional 7,136 shares during the period. 99.79% of the stock is currently 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.