MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) CEO Sells $7,703,100.00 in Stock

MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) CEO John Tseng-Chung Lee sold 30,000 shares of MKS stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.77, for a total transaction of $7,703,100.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 154,696 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $39,721,291.92. This represents a 16.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

MKS Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MKSI opened at $255.91 on Thursday. MKS Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $54.84 and a fifty-two week high of $269.91. The stock has a market cap of $17.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.56, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.95. 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 50-day simple moving average is $210.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $159.68.

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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). MKS had a return on equity of 20.85% and a net margin of 7.53%.The company had revenue of $1.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.02 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.15 earnings per share. The business’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, research analysts anticipate 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. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 23rd will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This is a boost from MKS’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 23rd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. MKS’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.88%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on MKSI shares. Benchmark raised their price target on shares of MKS from $135.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on MKS from $210.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Zacks Research raised MKS from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Citigroup lifted their price target on MKS from $185.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on MKS from $135.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $273.46.

Key Headlines Impacting MKS

Here are the key news stories impacting MKS this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Brokerages have pushed price targets higher and reiterated buy/overweight views, which supports upside expectations for MKSI. Price Target Raises
• Positive Sentiment: MKS increased its quarterly dividend to $0.25 (from $0.22), signaling confidence in cash flow and returning more capital to shareholders. Dividend & Stock Data
• Positive Sentiment: CEO John T.C. Lee will speak at Morgan Stanley’s Technology/Media/Telecom conference (March 2) — a visibility event that could provide fresh color on demand, margins and the roadmap. Conference Participation
• Neutral Sentiment: Q4 was mixed: revenue grew ~10.5% and slightly beat consensus, but EPS missed by ~$0.04 and Q1 EPS guidance (1.720–2.280) leaves room for interpretation on near‑term margins. This supports the growth story but may already be priced in. Earnings Summary
• Negative Sentiment: Significant insider selling reported Feb. 20–24: CEO and several executives/directors sold tens of thousands of shares (CEO sales alone roughly $7–8M), reducing some officers’ holdings materially — a near‑term negative that can pressure sentiment. CEO Form 4
• Negative Sentiment: Director Gerald G. Colella sold 10,000 shares (~$2.5M–$2.54M across filings), part of the broader wave of open‑market disposals that traders are watching. Colella Sale

Institutional Trading of MKS

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of MKSI. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its holdings in MKS by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 267,421 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $21,434,000 after purchasing an additional 9,170 shares during the period. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al purchased a new stake in shares of MKS in the second quarter worth $527,000. Brighton Jones LLC bought a new stake in MKS during the second quarter valued at $336,000. Optimum Investment Advisors boosted its stake in MKS by 25.0% during the second quarter. Optimum Investment Advisors now owns 625 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $62,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the period. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in MKS by 9.3% during the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 17,236 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $1,713,000 after buying an additional 1,472 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.79% of the company’s stock.

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.