MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) CEO John Tseng-Chung Lee Sells 30,000 Shares

MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) CEO John Tseng-Chung Lee sold 30,000 shares of MKS stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.77, for a total value of $7,703,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 154,696 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $39,721,291.92. The trade was a 16.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

MKS Price Performance

MKS stock opened at $253.71 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.06, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.94. MKS Inc. has a 52-week low of $54.84 and a 52-week high of $269.91. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $206.74 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $157.93. 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 quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 17th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $2.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.51 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $1.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.02 billion. MKS had a net margin of 7.53% and a return on equity of 20.85%. The business’s revenue was up 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.15 EPS. MKS has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.720-2.280 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that MKS Inc. will post 6.94 earnings per share for the current year.

MKS Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 23rd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. MKS’s payout ratio is currently 20.14%.

MKS News Summary

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MKSI has been the topic of several recent research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on MKS from $265.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their target price on MKS from $200.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Wall Street Zen cut MKS from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, January 3rd. Mizuho set a $320.00 price target on shares of MKS in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Needham & Company LLC raised their price objective on shares of MKS from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued 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.com, MKS has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $273.46.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in MKSI. USA Financial Formulas bought a new stake in MKS in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 grew its holdings in shares of MKS by 616.7% in the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 172 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. bought a new position in MKS in the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in 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. 99.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.