Cooke & Bieler LP Has $119.10 Million Position in MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI)

Cooke & Bieler LP grew its position in MKS Instruments, Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI - Free Report) by 2.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,157,767 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after purchasing an additional 27,635 shares during the period. Cooke & Bieler LP owned about 1.73% of MKS Instruments worth $119,099,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of 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 during the period. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MKS Instruments during the fourth quarter worth $21,052,000. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in shares of MKS Instruments by 2,071.7% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 880,884 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $90,432,000 after acquiring an additional 840,322 shares during the period. Tributary Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of MKS Instruments by 23.2% during the fourth quarter. Tributary Capital Management LLC now owns 7,453 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $767,000 after acquiring an additional 1,402 shares during the period. Finally, First Eagle Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of MKS Instruments by 41.1% during the third quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 134,735 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $11,660,000 after acquiring an additional 39,255 shares during the period. 99.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

MKS Instruments Stock Performance

Shares of MKSI traded down $3.92 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $108.17. The stock had a trading volume of 765,213 shares, compared to its average volume of 559,273. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $124.39 and a 200-day simple moving average of $101.75. MKS Instruments, Inc. has a one year low of $63.44 and a one year high of $135.51. The firm has a market cap of $7.25 billion, a PE ratio of -3.93, a P/E/G ratio of 3.56 and a beta of 1.67. The company has a current ratio of 3.18, a quick ratio of 2.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.90.

MKS Instruments (NASDAQ:MKSI - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 7th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.17 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 company 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 firm posted $2.00 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was down 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that MKS Instruments, Inc. will post 4.54 EPS for the current year.

MKS Instruments Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 8th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 26th were given a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.81%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 23rd. MKS Instruments's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -3.19%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on MKSI shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of MKS Instruments from $115.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. TheStreet raised shares of MKS Instruments from a "d+" rating to a "c-" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 23rd. StockNews.com raised shares of MKS Instruments from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Needham & Company LLC raised their target price on shares of MKS Instruments from $120.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, KeyCorp raised their target price on shares of MKS Instruments from $115.00 to $140.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, MKS Instruments presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $128.75.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Seth H. Bagshaw sold 32,865 shares of MKS Instruments stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $123.28, for a total value of $4,051,597.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 1 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $123.28. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Elizabeth Mora sold 250 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.00, for a total transaction of $33,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 16,862 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,242,646. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Seth H. Bagshaw sold 32,865 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $123.28, for a total transaction of $4,051,597.20. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 1 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $123.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 60,776 shares of company stock valued at $7,326,307 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

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.