First Eagle Investment Management LLC Has $14.02 Million Stock Holdings in MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI)

First Eagle Investment Management LLC cut its position in shares of MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) by 12.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 134,278 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 18,709 shares during the period. First Eagle Investment Management LLC owned 0.20% of MKS Instruments worth $14,017,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MKSI. Citigroup Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of 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 worth $48,303,000 after buying an additional 30,216 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings 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 worth $265,874,000 after buying an additional 237,979 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of MKS Instruments by 3,444.0% during 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 during the period. WCM Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of MKS Instruments by 25.5% during the 4th quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 35,069 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $3,650,000 after buying an additional 7,136 shares during the period. Finally, Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. bought a new stake in shares of MKS Instruments during the 3rd quarter worth about $868,000. 99.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on MKSI shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of MKS Instruments in a research report on Friday, December 13th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $145.00 target price on the stock. Citigroup upgraded shares of MKS Instruments from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $130.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of MKS Instruments from $150.00 to $147.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Needham & Company LLC decreased their target price on shares of MKS Instruments from $156.00 to $145.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of MKS Instruments from $128.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Three investment 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, MKS Instruments currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $140.08.

Insider Activity at MKS Instruments

In other news, Director Gerard G. Colella sold 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the director now owns 60,017 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,273,577.01. This trade represents a 11.76 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Elizabeth Mora sold 275 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 17,384 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,607,324.64. The trade was a 1.56 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.51% of the stock is owned by insiders.

MKS Instruments Stock Performance

NASDAQ MKSI opened at $86.32 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 3.19, a quick ratio of 2.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.93. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.83, a P/E/G ratio of 1.02 and a beta of 1.76. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $104.32 and its 200 day simple moving average is $107.18. MKS Instruments, Inc. has a 1 year low of $76.37 and a 1 year high of $147.40.

MKS Instruments (NASDAQ:MKSI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $2.15 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.92 by $0.23. MKS Instruments had a net margin of 5.30% and a return on equity of 18.94%. As a group, research analysts expect 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 $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 24th. MKS Instruments’s payout ratio is 31.43%.

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.