MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) CAO Michelle Mccarthy Sells 1,466 Shares

MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) CAO Michelle Mccarthy sold 1,466 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $366,500.00. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

MKS Stock Performance

Shares of MKSI opened at $253.71 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.71, a current ratio of 2.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53. MKS Inc. has a 52-week low of $54.84 and a 52-week high of $269.91. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $206.74 and a 200-day simple moving average of $157.93. The company has a market capitalization of $17.04 billion, a PE ratio of 58.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.94.

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $2.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 analyst estimates of $1.02 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.15 earnings per share. The company’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. Equities research analysts predict that MKS Inc. will post 6.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MKS Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 6th. Investors of record on Monday, February 23rd will be paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 23rd. This is a positive change from MKS’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. MKS’s dividend payout ratio is currently 20.14%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. KeyCorp reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $310.00 target price on shares of MKS in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on MKS from $265.00 to $305.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of MKS from $215.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of MKS from $135.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of MKS from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $273.46.

More MKS News

Here are the key news stories impacting MKS this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Multiple Wall Street firms recently raised price targets on MKSI, signaling continued analyst optimism about the company’s growth prospects; examples of recent target increases include $300 and $305 actions. Price Target Raised to $300.00 Price Target Raised to $305.00
• Positive Sentiment: MKS announced that President & CEO John T.C. Lee will participate in a fireside chat at Morgan Stanley’s Technology, Media & Telecom Conference on March 2 (webcast available) — a visibility event that can provide fresh management commentary on demand, margins and roadmap. Company Conference Participation
• Neutral Sentiment: The Street remains broadly constructive on MKSI (multiple buy/overweight ratings and a recent median price target near $255), which supports a positive medium-term view but may already be reflected in the stock’s run-up. Analyst Coverage Summary
• Negative Sentiment: Significant insider selling was disclosed on Feb. 20: CEO John T.C. Lee sold 30,000 shares (~$7.7M) and several other executives/directors sold additional stakes (total ~43,295 shares for roughly $11.1M). These sales materially reduced some insiders’ ownership (CEO down ~16.2%; others down as much as ~36%), which is putting downward pressure on the share price. SEC Form 4 filings are available for review. CEO Form 4

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its position in shares of MKS by 3.6% in the first 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 worth $21,434,000 after acquiring an additional 9,170 shares during the last quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al purchased a new position in MKS during the second quarter worth approximately $527,000. Brighton Jones LLC acquired a new position in shares of MKS in the 2nd quarter valued at $336,000. Optimum Investment Advisors grew its stake in shares of MKS by 25.0% during the 2nd 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 stake in shares of MKS by 9.3% during the 2nd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 17,236 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $1,713,000 after buying an additional 1,472 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.79% of the company’s stock.

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.