MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fifteen brokerages that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have assigned a hold recommendation, eleven have assigned a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $273.4615.

Several research firms have recently issued reports on MKSI. TD Cowen raised their price objective on MKS from $200.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Mizuho set a $320.00 target price on MKS in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Needham & Company LLC increased their price target on MKS from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on MKS from $265.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of MKS from $215.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd.

MKS Stock Performance

MKS stock opened at $213.45 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $226.63 and its 200-day moving average price is $170.22. The company has a quick ratio of 1.71, a current ratio of 2.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53. The company has a market cap of $14.35 billion, a PE ratio of 48.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.94. MKS has a twelve month low of $54.84 and a twelve month high of $269.91.

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $2.47 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.51 by ($0.04). The business 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 firm’s revenue was up 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.15 EPS. MKS has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.720-2.280 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that MKS will post 6.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MKS Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 6th. Investors of record on Monday, February 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend 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 presently 22.88%.

Insider Activity at MKS

In related news, EVP John Edward Williams sold 2,043 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.41, for a total value of $523,845.63. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 3,640 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $933,332.40. This represents a 35.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO John Tseng-Chung Lee sold 30,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.77, for a total transaction of $7,703,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 154,696 shares in the company, valued at $39,721,291.92. This trade represents a 16.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 68,503 shares of company stock worth $17,288,099 in the last three months. 0.57% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MKS

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Penserra Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in MKS by 43.4% during the 3rd 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 buying an additional 89,502 shares in the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new position in MKS in the 3rd quarter worth about $1,020,000. Prudential Financial Inc. grew its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 6,846 shares in the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp increased its position in shares of MKS by 553.5% during the third quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 7,371 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $912,000 after acquiring an additional 6,243 shares during the period. Finally, Mizuho Markets Americas LLC increased its position in shares of 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 worth $37,729,000 after acquiring an additional 6,725 shares during the period. 99.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.