Royce & Associates LP lowered its stake in shares of MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI – Free Report) by 25.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 616,605 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 210,522 shares during the quarter. MKS accounts for about 1.0% of Royce & Associates LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position. Royce & Associates LP’s holdings in MKS were worth $98,533,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. USA Financial Formulas purchased a new stake in shares of MKS during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased 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 worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc increased its holdings 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 valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in MKS by 74.5% in the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 260 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Danske Bank A S purchased a new position in MKS in the third quarter valued at $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.79% of the company’s stock.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Several research firms recently commented on MKSI. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of MKS in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $380.00 target price on shares of MKS in a report on Friday, May 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “sell” rating and issued a $265.00 target price on shares of MKS in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their target price on MKS from $300.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on MKS from $290.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, MKS has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $318.77.
Insider Activity at MKS
In other MKS news, EVP Eric Robert Taranto sold 4,568 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.52, for a total transaction of $1,007,335.36. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 15,445 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,405,931.40. This trade represents a 22.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Jacqueline F. Moloney sold 1,400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $318.99, for a total value of $446,586.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 9,775 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,118,127.25. The trade was a 12.53% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 13,313 shares of company stock valued at $3,713,564. Corporate insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.
MKS Stock Performance
NASDAQ:MKSI opened at $320.62 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $268.23 and its 200 day moving average price is $219.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.65 billion, a PE ratio of 67.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.98. MKS Inc. has a 12 month low of $80.22 and a 12 month high of $326.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.70.
MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI – Get Free Report) last issued 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 the consensus estimate of $2.00 by $0.30. The company had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.05 billion. MKS had a return on equity of 21.49% and a net margin of 8.06%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.71 earnings per share. MKS has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.600-3.200 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that MKS Inc. will post 11.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
MKS Announces Dividend
The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 3rd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. MKS’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 20.92%.
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.
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