Key Points
- CEO John T.C. Lee sold 30,000 shares of MKSI on Feb. 20 at an average price of $256.77 (~$7.7M), cutting his stake by about 16.24; total insider selling that day was roughly 43,295 shares (~$11.1M).
- MKS reported quarterly EPS of $2.47 (missed by $0.04) on $1.03B of revenue (up 10.5% YoY), provided Q1 2026 guidance of $1.72–$2.28 EPS, and carries a consensus analyst stance of "Moderate Buy" with an average price target near $273.46.
- The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.25 (from $0.22), an annualized $1.00 payout with a yield around 0.4% and a payout ratio near 20.1%.
MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI - Get Free Report) Director Jacqueline Moloney sold 829 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $247.55, for a total value of $205,218.95. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 10,733 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,656,954.15. The trade was a 7.17% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.
MKS Stock Performance
Shares of MKS stock opened at $253.71 on Tuesday. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $206.74 and its 200-day simple moving average is $157.93. MKS Inc. has a 12 month low of $54.84 and a 12 month high of $269.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.06, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 2.71 and a quick ratio of 1.71.
MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $2.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.51 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $1.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.02 billion. MKS had a return on equity of 20.85% and a net margin of 7.53%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $2.15 EPS. MKS has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.720-2.280 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that MKS Inc. will post 6.94 earnings per share for the current year.
MKS Increases Dividend
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 6th. Investors of record on Monday, February 23rd will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This is an increase from MKS's previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 23rd. MKS's dividend payout ratio is 20.14%.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On MKS
Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in MKSI. Kera Capital Partners Inc. purchased a new position in shares of MKS in the 4th quarter valued at about $366,000. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in MKS during the fourth quarter worth about $1,166,000. Dean Capital Management grew its position in MKS by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Dean Capital Management now owns 12,090 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $1,932,000 after buying an additional 377 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC increased its holdings in MKS by 2,170.2% in the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 133,036 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $21,259,000 after buying an additional 127,176 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV increased its holdings in MKS by 48.0% in the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 10,968 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $1,753,000 after buying an additional 3,555 shares in the last quarter. 99.79% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
Trending Headlines about MKS
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
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Several brokerages have weighed in on MKSI. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $300.00 target price on shares of MKS in a research note on Thursday. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price objective on shares of MKS from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Mizuho set a $320.00 price objective on shares of MKS in a research note on Thursday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their target price on shares of MKS from $265.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of MKS from $210.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $273.46.
View Our Latest Stock Report on MKSI
About MKS
(
Get Free Report)
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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