Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management Purchases Shares of 2,165 MKS Inc. $MKSI

Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management acquired a new position in MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 2,165 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, valued at approximately $498,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. USA Financial Formulas purchased a new stake in MKS in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of MKS by 560.0% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 165 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc increased its stake in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of MKS during the 4th quarter valued at $41,000. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of MKS by 55.2% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 256 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. 99.79% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MKS Price Performance

Shares of MKS stock opened at $324.69 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $21.93 billion, a PE ratio of 67.93, a PEG ratio of 0.94 and a beta of 1.93. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $348.85 and a 200 day moving average of $275.27. 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 12 month low of $88.49 and a 12 month high of $447.62.

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.05 billion. MKS had a return on equity of 21.49% and a net margin of 8.06%.The company’s revenue was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.71 EPS. MKS has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.600-3.200 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that MKS Inc. will post 11.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MKS Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 3rd were paid a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend 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%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on MKSI. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of MKS in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on MKS from $305.00 to $365.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on MKS in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $453.00 price objective for the company. Bank of America increased their target price on MKS from $380.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price target on MKS from $400.00 to $600.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, MKS currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $380.00.

Insider Transactions at MKS

In related news, Director Joseph B. Donahue sold 2,100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $327.95, for a total value of $688,695.00. Following the completion of 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP David Philip Henry sold 2,500 shares of MKS stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $330.50, for a total value of $826,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 16,341 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,400,700.50. This represents a 13.27% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 53,949 shares of company stock worth $17,446,108. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.