MKS Inc. $MKSI Stock Position Lowered by Royce & Associates LP

Royce & Associates LP lessened its stake in shares of MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) by 9.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 827,127 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 87,984 shares during the period. MKS comprises approximately 1.0% of Royce & Associates LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd biggest holding. Royce & Associates LP owned approximately 1.23% of MKS worth $102,374,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MKSI. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. bought a new stake in MKS during the 3rd quarter valued at $30,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of 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 worth $32,000 after buying an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Winnow Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of MKS during the third quarter valued at $38,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp bought a new stake in shares of MKS in the second quarter valued at about $46,000. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC purchased a new stake in MKS in the third quarter worth about $49,000. Institutional investors own 99.79% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MKSI has been the topic of several recent research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on shares of MKS from $265.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Mizuho set a $320.00 price objective on shares of MKS in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of MKS in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Needham & Company LLC upped their target price on MKS from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on MKS from $265.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a 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 issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $273.46.

Insider Transactions at MKS

In related news, EVP John Edward Williams sold 2,043 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.41, for a total value of $523,845.63. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 3,640 shares in the company, valued at $933,332.40. This represents a 35.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Gerald G. Colella sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.97, for a total transaction of $2,539,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 40,017 shares in the company, valued at $10,163,117.49. This trade represents a 19.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 63,595 shares of company stock worth $16,183,893 over the last ninety days. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

MKS Stock Performance

Shares of MKSI stock opened at $244.46 on Friday. MKS Inc. has a 12-month low of $54.84 and a 12-month high of $269.91. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $214.24 and its 200-day simple moving average is $161.69. The company has a current ratio of 2.71, a quick ratio of 1.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53. The company has a market cap of $16.44 billion, a PE ratio of 55.94, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.95.

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) last posted 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 return on equity of 20.85% and a net margin of 7.53%.The business had revenue of $1.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.02 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.15 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. MKS has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.720-2.280 EPS. Analysts expect 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 will be paid on Friday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 23rd will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. This is an increase from MKS’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 23rd. MKS’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.88%.

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.