Insider Selling: MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) EVP Sells $1,007,335.36 in Stock

MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) EVP Eric Robert Taranto sold 4,568 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 15,445 shares in the company, valued at $3,405,931.40. The trade was a 22.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Eric Robert Taranto also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Friday, February 20th, Eric Robert Taranto sold 1,453 shares of MKS stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $247.55, for a total value of $359,690.15.

MKS Trading Down 0.5%

NASDAQ MKSI opened at $224.25 on Thursday. MKS Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $54.84 and a fifty-two 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 stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $224.65 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $168.72. The stock has a market cap of $15.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 1.94.

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 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 the consensus estimate of $1.02 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $2.15 earnings per share. MKS’s quarterly revenue was up 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. MKS has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.720-2.280 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that MKS Inc. will post 6.94 earnings per share for the current year.

MKS Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 6th. Investors of record on Monday, February 23rd were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. This is an increase from MKS’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 23rd. MKS’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.88%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of MKS from $215.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Zacks Research upgraded shares of MKS from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price target on shares of MKS from $200.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of MKS from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, January 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on MKS from $210.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $273.46.

Institutional Trading of MKS

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Penserra Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of MKS by 43.4% during the third quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 295,963 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $36,631,000 after purchasing an additional 89,502 shares during the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of MKS in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,020,000. Prudential Financial Inc. grew its stake in shares of MKS by 13.1% in the 2nd quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 58,933 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $5,856,000 after buying an additional 6,846 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp increased its position in MKS by 553.5% during the 3rd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 7,371 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $912,000 after buying an additional 6,243 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mizuho Markets Americas LLC raised its stake in MKS by 2.3% during the third quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC now owns 304,831 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $37,729,000 after buying an additional 6,725 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.79% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about MKS

Here are the key news stories impacting MKS this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Zacks Research raised earnings estimates across multiple quarters and moved to a “Strong‑Buy,” lifting FY2027 and FY2028 forecasts materially (FY2027 to $9.98 and FY2028 to $14.56), implying stronger future growth expectations for MKS. This analyst backing can support upward momentum.
• Positive Sentiment: Brokerage sentiment has been turning favorable — several firms (Citigroup, Deutsche Bank, Cantor Fitzgerald, Morgan Stanley) have raised price targets and reiterated buy/overweight ratings; MarketBeat shows a consensus “Moderate Buy” with an average target ~ $273.46 — positive for investor sentiment.
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend hike: MKS increased the quarterly dividend to $0.25 ($1.00 annualized) from $0.22, keeping payout ratio modest (~23%) and signaling confidence in cash flow. This supports income-oriented demand.
• Positive Sentiment: Large institutional inflows: notable new and expanded stakes from Norges Bank, Southpoint, Frontier Capital, Westfield and Millennium show strong institutional conviction and add stability to the shareholder base.
• Neutral Sentiment: MKS benefited from improving end markets per an investor letter summary (Madison Investments), suggesting demand pickup that could sustain top-line growth. MKS (MKSI) Gained from End Markets Picking Up
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent quarterly results showed revenue beat (+10.5% YoY to ~$1.03B) but a slight EPS miss (-$0.04). Management issued Q1 guidance (EPS 1.72–2.28) — mixed near‑term read but evidence of ongoing growth.
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: EVP Eric Taranto sold 4,568 shares (avg ~$220.52) and has trimmed his holdings substantially across February/March, which some investors view as a negative signal. Eric Robert Taranto Sells 4,568 Shares of MKS
• Negative Sentiment: Short interest rose ~20% in February to ~3.84M shares (~5.7% of float). Elevated short activity can add volatility and downward pressure on near‑term price action.

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.