Key Points
- EVP Eric Robert Taranto sold 4,568 shares of MKS on March 6 at an average price of $220.52 (~$1.01M), cutting his holding by 22.83% to 15,445 shares; he also sold 1,453 shares on Feb. 20 at $247.55 (~$359,690).
- MKS reported Q4 EPS of $2.47 (missed by $0.04) and revenue of $1.03B (slightly above estimates), set Q1 2026 EPS guidance of $1.72–$2.28, and carries a consensus analyst rating of "Moderate Buy" with an average target of $273.46.
- The company increased its quarterly dividend to $0.25 ($1.00 annualized, 0.5% yield) and currently trades at a PE of about 49.97 with a market cap near $14.7B.
MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI - Get Free Report) EVP Eric Robert Taranto sold 4,568 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.52, for a total value of $1,007,335.36. Following the transaction, the executive vice president directly 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.
Eric Robert Taranto also recently made the following trade(s):
- On Friday, February 20th, Eric Robert Taranto sold 1,453 shares of MKS stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $247.55, for a total transaction of $359,690.15.
MKS Price Performance
NASDAQ MKSI opened at $218.36 on Tuesday. The firm's 50 day moving average is $222.10 and its 200-day moving average is $167.48. 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 company has a market capitalization of $14.68 billion, a PE ratio of 49.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.93. MKS Inc. has a 12-month low of $54.84 and a 12-month high of $269.91.
MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $2.47 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 business's revenue for the quarter was up 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $2.15 EPS. 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 fiscal year.
MKS Increases Dividend
The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 23rd were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 23rd. This is a positive change from MKS's previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. MKS's dividend payout ratio is 22.88%.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
MKSI has been the subject of several recent research reports. Zacks Research raised MKS from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Citigroup upped their price objective on MKS from $185.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on MKS from $265.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their target price on shares of MKS from $200.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and set a $300.00 target price on shares of MKS in a report 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 given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $273.46.
Read Our Latest Research Report on MKSI
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of MKSI. Norges Bank acquired a new position in MKS in the 4th quarter valued at about $147,453,000. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP bought a new stake in shares of MKS during the fourth quarter worth approximately $95,880,000. Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC grew its position in shares of MKS by 146.4% in the second quarter. Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC now owns 912,380 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $90,654,000 after purchasing an additional 542,094 shares during the last quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP grew its position in shares of MKS by 159.7% in the fourth quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 839,773 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $134,196,000 after purchasing an additional 516,409 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Millennium Management LLC increased its stake in shares of MKS by 9,165.9% during the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 446,248 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $55,232,000 after purchasing an additional 441,432 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.79% of the company's stock.
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.
Further Reading
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