Cooke & Bieler LP Purchases 161,905 Shares of MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI)

Cooke & Bieler LP increased its stake in MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI - Free Report) by 18.5% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,038,945 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after purchasing an additional 161,905 shares during the quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP owned about 1.54% of MKS worth $83,271,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Teacher Retirement System of Texas acquired a new stake in MKS during the 1st quarter worth about $789,000. Prudential Financial Inc. increased its holdings in shares of MKS by 772.7% in the 4th quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 61,447 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $6,481,000 after purchasing an additional 54,406 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group acquired a new position in shares of MKS in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,480,000. Artemis Investment Management LLP increased its holdings in shares of MKS by 2.2% in the 1st quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 251,799 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $20,182,000 after purchasing an additional 5,422 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of MKS in the 4th quarter valued at about $85,451,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.79% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other MKS news, EVP David Philip Henry sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $105.00, for a total transaction of $210,000.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 20,571 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,159,955. This represents a 8.86% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on MKSI. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of MKS in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. They issued a "sell" rating and a $90.00 target price for the company. Mizuho lifted their target price on shares of MKS from $105.00 to $118.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of MKS from $85.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of MKS from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $110.00 target price for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reduced their target price on shares of MKS from $145.00 to $140.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, May 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $118.80.

MKS Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MKSI traded up $0.77 on Friday, hitting $104.71. 661,623 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,052,391. MKS Inc. has a one year low of $54.84 and a one year high of $133.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.26, a PEG ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.87, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a current ratio of 3.11. The company's 50 day moving average price is $94.38 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $92.01.

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 7th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.42 by $0.29. MKS had a net margin of 6.21% and a return on equity of 20.67%. The company had revenue of $936.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $913.59 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.18 EPS. The business's revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that MKS Inc. will post 6.94 earnings per share for the current year.

MKS Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 6th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 27th were issued a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.84%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 27th. MKS's dividend payout ratio is currently 26.27%.

About MKS

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.