Cooke & Bieler LP Buys 27,635 Shares of MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI)

Cooke & Bieler LP increased its stake in shares of MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) by 2.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,157,767 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after acquiring an additional 27,635 shares during the quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP owned approximately 1.73% of MKS Instruments worth $119,099,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in MKS Instruments by 2.8% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,853,896 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $593,136,000 after acquiring an additional 187,884 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of MKS Instruments by 5.5% in the first quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,642,162 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $696,324,000 after buying an additional 241,134 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its stake in shares of MKS Instruments by 10.8% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 3,464,620 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $299,828,000 after buying an additional 338,347 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its stake in shares of MKS Instruments by 25.6% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 1,881,747 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $166,762,000 after buying an additional 383,717 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of MKS Instruments by 1.5% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,634,055 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $176,641,000 after buying an additional 23,936 shares in the last quarter. 99.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

MKS Instruments Stock Performance

NASDAQ MKSI opened at $108.17 on Friday. MKS Instruments, Inc. has a 52-week low of $63.44 and a 52-week high of $135.51. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $124.39 and a 200 day simple moving average of $101.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90, a quick ratio of 2.01 and a current ratio of 3.18. The company has a market capitalization of $7.25 billion, a PE ratio of -3.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.56 and a beta of 1.67.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.89 by $0.28. MKS Instruments had a negative net margin of 50.80% and a positive return on equity of 9.95%. The business had revenue of $893.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $845.25 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.00 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that MKS Instruments, Inc. will post 4.54 EPS for the current year.

MKS Instruments Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 8th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 26th were given a dividend of $0.22 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 23rd. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.81%. MKS Instruments’s dividend payout ratio is presently -3.19%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other MKS Instruments news, Director Gerard G. Colella sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.00, for a total transaction of $1,100,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 78,017 shares in the company, valued at $8,581,870. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Kathleen Flaherty Burke sold 7,411 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $122.89, for a total value of $910,737.79. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 42,999 shares in the company, valued at $5,284,147.11. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gerard G. Colella sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $110.00, for a total transaction of $1,100,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 78,017 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,581,870. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 60,776 shares of company stock worth $7,326,307 over the last quarter. 0.46% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. KeyCorp raised their price objective on shares of MKS Instruments from $115.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of MKS Instruments from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. TheStreet upgraded shares of MKS Instruments from a “d+” rating to a “c-” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 23rd. Benchmark increased their target price on shares of MKS Instruments from $85.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC increased their target price on shares of MKS Instruments from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $128.75.

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.