Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Makes New Investment in MKS Inc. $MKSI

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in shares of MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 92,856 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, valued at approximately $14,838,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned approximately 0.14% of MKS at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in MKS by 24.5% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 11,412 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $1,824,000 after acquiring an additional 2,247 shares during the last quarter. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC purchased a new position in shares of MKS in the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,618,000. Wedmont Private Capital boosted its holdings in shares of MKS by 7.4% in the 4th quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 3,064 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $490,000 after purchasing an additional 211 shares during the period. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its position in shares of MKS by 6.9% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 898 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $144,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Avior Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of MKS by 23.9% during the 4th quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,695 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $431,000 after purchasing an additional 519 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.79% of the company’s stock.

MKS Price Performance

NASDAQ MKSI opened at $225.12 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 1.71 and a current ratio of 2.71. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $234.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $177.83. MKS Inc. has a 52-week low of $54.84 and a 52-week high of $269.91. The company has a market cap of $15.16 billion, a PE ratio of 51.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.31 and a beta of 1.94.

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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). The business had revenue of $1.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.02 billion. MKS had a return on equity of 20.85% and a net margin of 7.53%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.15 EPS. MKS has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.720-2.280 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast 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 was paid on Friday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 23rd were issued a $0.25 dividend. This is a boost 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%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 23rd. MKS’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.88%.

Insider Buying and Selling at MKS

In related news, CEO John Tseng-Chung Lee sold 30,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.77, for a total transaction of $7,703,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 154,696 shares in the company, valued at $39,721,291.92. The trade was a 16.24% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Elizabeth Mora sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $239.44, for a total transaction of $71,832.00. Following the sale, the director directly 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. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 68,503 shares of company stock valued at $17,288,099. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on MKSI shares. TD Cowen raised their price target on MKS from $200.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of MKS from $135.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, February 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of MKS from $265.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of MKS from $295.00 to $290.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 20th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC increased their price objective on shares of MKS from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. One equities 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $273.08.

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.