Banco Santander S.A. Cuts Stake in MKS Inc. $MKSI

Banco Santander S.A. cut its stake in shares of MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) by 24.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 11,499 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 3,734 shares during the quarter. Banco Santander S.A.’s holdings in MKS were worth $1,423,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Xponance Inc. increased its stake in MKS by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 8,143 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $1,008,000 after purchasing an additional 211 shares in the last quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP bought a new stake in shares of MKS during the third quarter valued at approximately $40,023,000. Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in MKS in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $554,000. MAI Capital Management lifted its position in MKS by 10.6% in the 3rd quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 1,057 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $131,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Finally, OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in MKS during the 3rd quarter valued at $255,000. 99.79% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MKS Price Performance

NASDAQ MKSI opened at $244.46 on Friday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $214.24 and a 200-day moving average price of $161.69. MKS Inc. has a 52 week low of $54.84 and a 52 week high of $269.91. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $16.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.94, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 1.95.

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $2.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.51 by ($0.04). MKS had a net margin of 7.53% and a return on equity of 20.85%. The business had revenue of $1.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.02 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.15 earnings per share. The business’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 anticipate that MKS Inc. will post 6.94 earnings per share for the current year.

MKS Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity at MKS

In other MKS news, Director Gerald G. Colella sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $253.97, for a total transaction of $2,539,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 40,017 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,163,117.49. The trade was a 19.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP David Philip Henry sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $261.56, for a total value of $523,120.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 18,841 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,928,051.96. The trade was a 9.60% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 63,595 shares of company stock valued at $16,183,893 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MKSI. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price target on MKS from $200.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on MKS from $265.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. 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 research note on Thursday, February 19th. Bank of America lifted their price target 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. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of MKS from $185.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $273.46.

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.