MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) EVP David Philip Henry Sells 2,000 Shares of Stock

MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) EVP David Philip Henry sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $261.56, for a total transaction of $523,120.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 18,841 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,928,051.96. This trade represents a 9.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

MKS Stock Down 2.1%

Shares of NASDAQ MKSI opened at $253.71 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $206.74 and a 200 day moving average price of $157.93. The company has a current ratio of 2.71, a quick ratio of 1.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53. MKS Inc. has a 12-month low of $54.84 and a 12-month high of $269.91. The company has a market cap of $17.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.94.

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $2.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.51 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $1.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.02 billion. MKS had a net margin of 7.53% and a return on equity of 20.85%. MKS’s quarterly revenue was up 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.15 EPS. MKS has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.720-2.280 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that MKS Inc. will post 6.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MKS Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 23rd will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. This is a boost from MKS’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 23rd. MKS’s payout ratio is currently 20.14%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded MKS from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on MKS from $265.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of MKS from $185.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of MKS from $210.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Benchmark increased their price objective on shares of MKS from $135.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $273.46.

Key MKS News

Here are the key news stories impacting MKS this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Multiple Wall Street firms recently raised price targets on MKSI, signaling continued analyst optimism about the company’s growth prospects; examples of recent target increases include $300 and $305 actions. Price Target Raised to $300.00 Price Target Raised to $305.00
• Positive Sentiment: MKS announced that President & CEO John T.C. Lee will participate in a fireside chat at Morgan Stanley’s Technology, Media & Telecom Conference on March 2 (webcast available) — a visibility event that can provide fresh management commentary on demand, margins and roadmap. Company Conference Participation
• Neutral Sentiment: The Street remains broadly constructive on MKSI (multiple buy/overweight ratings and a recent median price target near $255), which supports a positive medium-term view but may already be reflected in the stock’s run-up. Analyst Coverage Summary
• Negative Sentiment: Significant insider selling was disclosed on Feb. 20: CEO John T.C. Lee sold 30,000 shares (~$7.7M) and several other executives/directors sold additional stakes (total ~43,295 shares for roughly $11.1M). These sales materially reduced some insiders’ ownership (CEO down ~16.2%; others down as much as ~36%), which is putting downward pressure on the share price. SEC Form 4 filings are available for review. CEO Form 4

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MKS

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC grew its holdings in shares of MKS by 3.6% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 267,421 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $21,434,000 after purchasing an additional 9,170 shares during the last quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al bought a new position in MKS during the 2nd quarter worth $527,000. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new stake in MKS in the second quarter worth $336,000. Optimum Investment Advisors lifted its stake in 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 buying an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of MKS by 9.3% during the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 17,236 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $1,713,000 after acquiring an additional 1,472 shares during the period. 99.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About MKS

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.