Channing Capital Management LLC Sells 247,136 Shares of MKS Inc. $MKSI

Channing Capital Management LLC lowered its stake in MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) by 24.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 744,162 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 247,136 shares during the quarter. MKS comprises approximately 2.4% of Channing Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Channing Capital Management LLC owned 1.11% of MKS worth $92,105,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Penserra Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of MKS by 43.4% during the 3rd quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 295,963 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $36,631,000 after acquiring an additional 89,502 shares in the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in MKS during the third quarter worth $1,020,000. Prudential Financial Inc. grew its position in MKS by 13.1% in the second quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 58,933 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $5,856,000 after purchasing an additional 6,846 shares in the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. increased its stake in MKS by 50.2% in the 2nd quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 8,897 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $884,000 after buying an additional 2,974 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Fund Management S.A. bought a new stake in MKS during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,681,000. Institutional investors own 99.79% of the company’s stock.

MKS Stock Up 4.1%

MKSI stock opened at $259.27 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $204.86 and its 200 day simple moving average is $156.37. MKS Inc. has a 1-year low of $54.84 and a 1-year high of $269.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.42 billion, a PE ratio of 59.33, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.95. The company has a current ratio of 2.71, a quick ratio of 1.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53.

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) last released 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 company had revenue of $1.03 billion for 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.15 earnings per share. MKS has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.720-2.280 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that MKS Inc. will post 6.94 EPS for the current year.

MKS Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.14%.

Key Stories Impacting MKS

Here are the key news stories impacting MKS this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 revenue beat and segment strength — MKS reported $1.03B in Q4 revenue (+10% YoY) with Electronics & Packaging up ~19%, showing demand strength in key end markets that supports higher earnings power. MKS Inc. (MKSI) Reports $1.03B Q4 2025 Revenue
• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan raised its price target to $305 and keeps an overweight rating — a bullish analyst move that likely boosted investor confidence and helped lift the stock. JPMorgan raises MKSI price target
• Positive Sentiment: Needham increased its target to $300 and maintains a buy rating — another bullish signal adding upward pressure. Needham raises MKSI price target
• Neutral Sentiment: Wells Fargo raised its target to $255 but kept an equal‑weight rating — a modestly constructive update, though its PT sits near the stock price and signals limited upside. Wells Fargo raises MKSI price target
• Neutral Sentiment: Full earnings call transcript is available for detail seekers — useful for judging management tone on orders, backlog and guidance. MKS Q4 2025 earnings call transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Small EPS miss — Q4 EPS $2.47 vs. consensus $2.51 (miss by $0.04). The slight miss tempered the rally and left some investors wanting a larger beat.
• Negative Sentiment: Mixed/contrarian analyst views: Goldman Sachs raised its price target (to $200) but maintains a sell rating, signaling that some firms still see meaningful downside — this contributes to mixed market reaction. Goldman raises PT but keeps sell rating
• Negative Sentiment: Investor disappointment / short‑term selling pressure — stories about the stock gapping down and falling after the print reflect that some traders sought a larger beat, creating intraday swings despite underlying revenue strength. MKS shares gap down following weak earnings MKS stock falls; investors wanted larger beat

Insider Transactions at MKS

In other news, Director Elizabeth Mora sold 300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.81, for a total transaction of $47,643.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 18,963 shares in the company, valued at $3,011,514.03. The trade was a 1.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.57% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MKSI has been the subject of several analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on MKS from $135.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday. Mizuho set a $320.00 price target on MKS in a research note on Thursday. Bank of America boosted their price target on MKS from $215.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Citigroup increased their price objective on MKS from $185.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their target price on shares of MKS from $200.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $273.46.

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.