Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Has $3.26 Million Position in MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund reduced its holdings in shares of MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) by 26.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 24,534 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 8,925 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in MKS Instruments were worth $3,263,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp boosted its position in shares of MKS Instruments by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp now owns 55,019 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $7,318,000 after acquiring an additional 782 shares in the last quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S boosted its position in MKS Instruments by 2.2% in the first quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 22,653 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $3,013,000 after buying an additional 497 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in MKS Instruments by 143.1% in the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,141,676 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $282,102,000 after buying an additional 1,260,792 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC boosted its position in MKS Instruments by 9.3% in the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 9,522 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $1,266,000 after buying an additional 807 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC acquired a new position in MKS Instruments in the first quarter valued at about $25,000. 99.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MKS Instruments Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MKSI opened at $143.52 on Monday. MKS Instruments, Inc. has a 1-year low of $63.44 and a 1-year high of $147.40. The company has a quick ratio of 2.34, a current ratio of 3.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.94. The company has a 50-day moving average of $131.04 and a two-hundred day moving average of $122.13.

MKS Instruments (NASDAQ:MKSI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 8th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.18 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.75 by $0.43. The business had revenue of $868.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $848.94 million. MKS Instruments had a negative net margin of 48.24% and a positive return on equity of 13.90%. MKS Instruments’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.48 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that MKS Instruments, Inc. will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current year.

MKS Instruments Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 7th. Investors of record on Tuesday, May 28th were paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.61%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, May 24th. MKS Instruments’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -3.30%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on MKSI. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of MKS Instruments from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price target on shares of MKS Instruments from $145.00 to $153.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a “hold” rating and issued a $140.00 price target on shares of MKS Instruments in a research report on Thursday, June 20th. KeyCorp boosted their price target on shares of MKS Instruments from $150.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of MKS Instruments from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $147.86.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Elizabeth Mora sold 275 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.41, for a total transaction of $35,587.75. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 18,209 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,356,426.69. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.