Cooke & Bieler LP Has $163.61 Million Holdings in MKS Inc. $MKSI

Cooke & Bieler LP grew its position in shares of MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) by 7.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,321,877 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after acquiring an additional 94,692 shares during the quarter. MKS comprises 1.7% of Cooke & Bieler LP’s holdings, making the stock its 15th largest holding. Cooke & Bieler LP owned 1.97% of MKS worth $163,609,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the business. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in shares of MKS by 2.4% in the third quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,462 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $428,000 after buying an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. MAI Capital Management boosted its stake in MKS by 12.5% during the 2nd quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 956 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $95,000 after purchasing an additional 106 shares during the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of MKS by 1.1% in the second quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 10,964 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $1,089,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors lifted its holdings in shares of MKS by 25.0% in the second quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 625 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Steph & Co. boosted its position in shares of MKS by 30.4% during the third quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 553 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $68,000 after buying an additional 129 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.79% of the company’s stock.

MKS Price Performance

MKS stock opened at $217.06 on Monday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $169.36 and its 200 day simple moving average is $136.65. MKS Inc. has a 12 month low of $54.84 and a 12 month high of $233.11. The company has a market cap of $14.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.68, a PEG ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 1.92. The company has a current ratio of 2.86, a quick ratio of 1.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64.

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.80 by $0.13. MKS had a return on equity of 20.80% and a net margin of 7.25%.The firm had revenue of $988.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $963.87 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.72 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. MKS has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 1.930-2.610 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that MKS Inc. will post 6.94 EPS for the current year.

MKS Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 5th. Investors of record on Monday, November 24th were paid a dividend of $0.22 per share. This represents a $0.88 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 24th. MKS’s dividend payout ratio is presently 21.36%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Elizabeth Mora sold 300 shares of MKS stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.81, for a total value of $47,643.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 18,963 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,011,514.03. The trade was a 1.56% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.51% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Benchmark increased their price target on MKS from $135.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Mizuho set a $215.00 target price on shares of MKS in a report on Friday, January 9th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of MKS from $175.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $265.00 price objective on shares of MKS in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded MKS from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 3rd. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $227.75.

Key Stories Impacting MKS

Here are the key news stories impacting MKS this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Several brokerages raised price targets, signaling stronger analyst conviction — TD Cowen bumped its target to $230. MKS Inc. price target raised to $230 from $200 at TD Cowen
• Positive Sentiment: Large upward revisions from other firms increased bullish interest (Needham to $260, Bank of America to $255, Morgan Stanley to $258, Cantor Fitzgerald to $300), suggesting analysts see meaningful upside vs. earlier levels. Analyst price target coverage (Benzinga)
• Positive Sentiment: MKS raised its Q4 guidance ahead of earnings (Needham also raised its target after the guidance update), which supports expectations for continued revenue/EPS strength. MKS increases Q4 guidance ahead of earnings; Needham hikes price target
• Positive Sentiment: Equity research pieces highlight MKS’s momentum and strong earnings-surprise track record, which can support further upside if the company sustains beat-and-raise results. Will MKS (MKSI) Beat Estimates Again?
• Neutral Sentiment: Not all upgrades are uniformly bullish: Wells Fargo raised its target to $210 but kept an “equal weight” rating, implying limited near-term upside from its view. Wells Fargo price target note
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst target dispersion and a premium valuation (market commentary points to a high P/E) create short-term volatility; despite bullish reports, these mixed signals likely contributed to profit-taking and the intraday pullback.

MKS Company Profile

MKS Instruments, Inc (NASDAQ: MKSI) designs, manufactures and markets technology solutions that enable advanced processes in a variety of high‐technology and industrial markets. The company’s core offerings include vacuum and gas delivery systems, pressure and flow measurement instruments, optical metrology tools, photonics subsystems and critical components for manufacturing processes. These products support the precise control and monitoring needs of semiconductor, industrial manufacturing, life and health sciences, and research applications.

The company’s product portfolio features mass flow controllers, pressure transducers, vacuum gauges, gas purity monitors, laser-based metrology systems and photonic devices such as lasers and detectors.