Harvey Partners LLC Boosts Stock Position in MKS Inc. $MKSI

Harvey Partners LLC raised its holdings in MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) by 7.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 289,000 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after acquiring an additional 19,401 shares during the period. MKS comprises about 3.2% of Harvey Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest holding. Harvey Partners LLC owned about 0.43% of MKS worth $35,770,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of MKSI. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of MKS in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 worth $32,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the period. Winnow Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of MKS during the third quarter worth about $38,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC bought a new position in shares of MKS during the third quarter worth about $49,000. Finally, Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in MKS in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $65,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.79% of the company’s stock.

MKS Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MKSI opened at $213.45 on Monday. 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 capitalization of $14.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.93. MKS Inc. has a 12 month low of $54.84 and a 12 month high of $269.91. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $226.63 and a 200-day moving average of $170.67.

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $1.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.02 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.15 EPS. The firm’s revenue 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, equities research analysts predict that MKS Inc. will post 6.94 EPS for the current year.

MKS Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 23rd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. This is a boost from MKS’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. MKS’s dividend payout ratio is 22.88%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on MKS from $210.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on MKS from $135.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on MKS from $265.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of MKS from $185.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC boosted their target price on shares of MKS from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 19th. One investment 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 assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $273.46.

Insider Buying and Selling at MKS

In other news, Director Gerald G. Colella sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was 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 owned 40,017 shares in the company, valued at $10,163,117.49. The trade was a 19.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Eric Robert Taranto sold 4,568 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.52, for a total value of $1,007,335.36. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 15,445 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,405,931.40. This trade represents a 22.83% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 68,503 shares of company stock worth $17,288,099 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.51% of the company’s stock.

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.