Nordea Investment Management AB Sells 996,602 Shares of MKS Inc. $MKSI

Nordea Investment Management AB reduced its stake in shares of MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) by 62.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 599,842 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 996,602 shares during the quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB owned approximately 0.89% of MKS worth $96,605,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. bought a new stake in shares of MKS during the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its position 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 valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the period. Danske Bank A S bought a new position in MKS in the third quarter worth about $37,000. Winnow Wealth LLC bought a new position in MKS in the third quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC purchased a new stake in MKS in the third quarter worth about $49,000. 99.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

MKS Price Performance

Shares of MKSI opened at $227.13 on Monday. MKS Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $54.84 and a fifty-two week high of $269.91. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $231.43 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $175.12. The stock has a market cap of $15.27 billion, a PE ratio of 51.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.22 and a beta of 1.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 1.71 and a current ratio of 2.71.

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

MKS Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 23rd. This is a positive change from MKS’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. MKS’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.88%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MKSI has been the topic of several research reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of MKS in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $300.00 target price on shares of MKS in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. KeyCorp restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $310.00 target price on shares of MKS in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price target on MKS from $265.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price objective on MKS from $200.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, MKS currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $273.08.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Elizabeth Mora sold 300 shares of MKS stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $239.44, for a total value of $71,832.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 18,663 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,468,668.72. The trade was a 1.58% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Eric Robert Taranto sold 4,568 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.52, for a total transaction of $1,007,335.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 15,445 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,405,931.40. The trade was a 22.83% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 68,503 shares of company stock valued at $17,288,099. Company insiders own 0.51% of the company’s stock.

MKS 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.