Peter Cannone III Sells 1,250 Shares of MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) Stock

MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) Director Peter Cannone III sold 1,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $258.06, for a total transaction of $322,575.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 8,362 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,157,897.72. This trade represents a 13.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

MKS Trading Down 0.9%

Shares of MKSI stock opened at $251.41 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.53, a PEG ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.95. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $208.65 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $159.00. MKS Inc. has a 1 year low of $54.84 and a 1 year high of $269.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 2.71 and a quick ratio of 1.71.

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

MKS Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This is a boost from MKS’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 23rd. MKS’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.88%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MKSI has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Mizuho set a $320.00 price objective on shares of MKS in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of MKS from $265.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price target on shares of MKS from $200.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $300.00 price objective on shares of MKS in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of MKS in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, MKS presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $273.46.

Trending Headlines about MKS

Here are the key news stories impacting MKS this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analyst optimism: multiple brokers recently raised targets and reiterated buy/overweight views, supporting upside expectations and a median/consensus target materially above earlier levels. Price Target Raises
• Positive Sentiment: Investor visibility event: CEO John T.C. Lee will speak at Morgan Stanley’s Tech/Media/Telecom conference (March 2) with a webcast available — a chance for management to update investors on demand, margins and roadmap. Conference Participation
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend increase: MKS raised its quarterly dividend to $0.25/sh (from $0.22), signaling confidence in cashflow and returning more capital to shareholders. Dividend & Stock Data
• Neutral Sentiment: Q4 results were mixed: revenue grew ~10.5% y/y and beat expectations, but EPS missed the consensus by a small amount; Q1 FY26 EPS guidance was provided (1.720–2.280), leaving room for interpretation on near‑term margins. This is supportive of a solid medium‑term story but may already be priced in. Earnings Summary
• Negative Sentiment: Significant insider selling: CEO John T.C. Lee sold 30,000 shares (~$7.7M) and multiple other executives/directors sold additional stakes across Feb. 20–24 (totaling tens of thousands of shares, roughly ~$11M reported). These open‑market dispositions materially reduced some insiders’ holdings and are exerting downward pressure on the stock. SEC Form 4 filings for the CEO are available. CEO Form 4

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MKS

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MKSI. USA Financial Formulas bought a new position in shares of MKS during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its position in MKS by 560.0% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 165 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its stake in MKS by 616.7% in the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 172 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. bought a new position in MKS during the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of MKS by 74.5% during the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 260 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.79% of the company’s stock.

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.