Morgan Stanley Lowers MKS Instruments (NASDAQ:MKSI) Price Target to $150.00

MKS Instruments (NASDAQ:MKSI) had its target price decreased by Morgan Stanley from $155.00 to $150.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an overweight rating on the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on MKSI. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on shares of MKS Instruments in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $140.00 target price on the stock. Mizuho upgraded MKS Instruments to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Citigroup downgraded MKS Instruments from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $145.00 to $120.00 in a research report on Monday, September 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on MKS Instruments in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $129.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $142.00 target price on shares of MKS Instruments in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, MKS Instruments currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $141.00.

MKS Instruments Stock Performance

NASDAQ MKSI opened at $110.86 on Monday. MKS Instruments has a 1 year low of $93.88 and a 1 year high of $147.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 246.36, a P/E/G ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.65. The company has a current ratio of 3.42, a quick ratio of 2.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.98. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $108.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $116.75.

MKS Instruments (NASDAQ:MKSI) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, November 6th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.72 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.45 by $0.27. The firm had revenue of $896.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $874.29 million. MKS Instruments had a net margin of 0.90% and a return on equity of 15.79%. The company’s revenue was down 3.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.46 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that MKS Instruments will post 6.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MKS Instruments Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, November 25th were paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 25th. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.79%. MKS Instruments’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 195.56%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Elizabeth Mora sold 275 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $113.41, for a total transaction of $31,187.75. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 17,659 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,002,707.19. The trade was a 1.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Jacqueline F. Moloney sold 250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.90, for a total value of $27,225.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 10,283 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,119,818.70. This represents a 2.37 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 825 shares of company stock valued at $92,853. Corporate insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in MKSI. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of MKS Instruments by 3.5% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,954,881 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $212,515,000 after purchasing an additional 65,200 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in MKS Instruments by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,172,517 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $127,496,000 after purchasing an additional 51,519 shares during the period. Barclays PLC grew its position in shares of MKS Instruments by 108.6% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,019,134 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $110,789,000 after purchasing an additional 530,620 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of MKS Instruments by 7.4% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 663,414 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $72,120,000 after purchasing an additional 45,862 shares during the period. Finally, Ceredex Value Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of MKS Instruments by 17.8% in the third quarter. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC now owns 509,883 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $55,429,000 after buying an additional 77,025 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.79% of the company’s stock.

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.