WCM Investment Management LLC Sells 6,436 Shares of MKS Inc. $MKSI

WCM Investment Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) by 34.7% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 12,120 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 6,436 shares during the period. WCM Investment Management LLC’s holdings in MKS were worth $2,551,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MKSI. USA Financial Formulas bought a new position in shares of MKS in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of MKS by 560.0% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 165 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc grew its stake in MKS by 616.7% in the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 172 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the period. Danske Bank A S purchased a new stake in MKS in the third quarter worth $37,000. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC raised its holdings in MKS by 55.2% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 256 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.79% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on MKSI shares. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on MKS from $374.00 to $442.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of MKS in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $453.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of MKS from $305.00 to $365.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Needham & Company LLC boosted their price target on MKS from $300.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on MKS from $380.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $380.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at MKS

In related news, Director Joseph B. Donahue sold 2,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $327.95, for a total value of $688,695.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 10,033 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,290,322.35. This trade represents a 17.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO John Tseng-Chung Lee sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.48, for a total transaction of $3,154,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 144,696 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,648,694.08. The trade was a 6.46% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 53,949 shares of company stock worth $17,446,108. 0.57% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

MKS Price Performance

Shares of MKSI opened at $324.28 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $348.94 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $277.20. The firm has a market cap of $21.90 billion, a PE ratio of 67.84, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.93. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. MKS Inc. has a 1-year low of $88.49 and a 1-year high of $447.62.

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $2.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.00 by $0.30. MKS had a return on equity of 21.49% and a net margin of 8.06%.The firm had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.05 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.71 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. MKS has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.600-3.200 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that MKS Inc. will post 11.77 EPS for the current year.

MKS Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 3rd were given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 3rd. MKS’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.92%.

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.