Jacqueline Moloney Sells 829 Shares of MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) Stock

MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) Director Jacqueline Moloney sold 829 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $247.55, for a total transaction of $205,218.95. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 10,733 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,656,954.15. The trade was a 7.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

MKS Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MKSI opened at $251.41 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $16.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.40 and a beta of 1.95. MKS Inc. has a 52-week low of $54.84 and a 52-week high of $269.91. 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 fifty day moving average is $208.65 and its two-hundred day moving average is $159.00.

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 17th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $2.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.51 by ($0.04). MKS had a net margin of 7.53% and a return on equity of 20.85%. The firm 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 earned $2.15 EPS. The company’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. As a group, analysts anticipate that MKS Inc. will post 6.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MKS Increases Dividend

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

Institutional Trading of MKS

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MKSI. USA Financial Formulas bought a new stake in MKS in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of MKS by 560.0% in the fourth 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 period. IFP Advisors Inc raised 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 worth $27,000 after buying an additional 148 shares during the period. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. bought a new stake in shares of MKS during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in MKS by 74.5% during the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 260 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the period. 99.79% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MKSI. Zacks Research raised shares of MKS from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of MKS from $135.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of MKS from $185.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of MKS in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price target on MKS from $265.00 to $305.00 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 issued a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, MKS presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $273.46.

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.