Key Points
- Insider sale: Director Jacqueline Moloney sold 340 shares on March 12 at an average price of $213.77 for about $72,682, reducing her holdings by 3.17% to 10,393 shares (worth ≈ $2.22M).
- Quarterly results & guidance: MKS reported Q (latest) EPS of $2.47 (missed estimates of $2.51) and revenue of $1.03B (up 10.5% YoY), and set Q1 2026 EPS guidance of $1.72–$2.28 while analysts expect ~6.94 EPS for the year.
- Dividend and analyst view: The company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.25 (annualized $1.00; yield ~0.5%), and consensus analyst coverage is a "Moderate Buy" with an average price target of $273.46.
MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI - Get Free Report) Director Jacqueline Moloney sold 340 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.77, for a total value of $72,681.80. Following the sale, the director owned 10,393 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,221,711.61. This represents a 3.17% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.
MKS Price Performance
Shares of NASDAQ MKSI opened at $213.45 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $14.35 billion, a PE ratio of 48.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.94. MKS Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $54.84 and a fifty-two week high of $269.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 1.71 and a current ratio of 2.71. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $226.63 and a 200-day moving average of $169.77.
MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 17th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $2.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.51 by ($0.04). The company had revenue of $1.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.02 billion. MKS had a net margin of 7.53% and a return on equity of 20.85%. 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 firm posted $2.15 earnings per share. 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 23rd were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This is a boost from MKS's previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 23rd. MKS's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.88%.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Mizuho set a $320.00 price objective on shares of MKS in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of MKS from $185.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of MKS from $135.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of MKS from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, January 3rd. Finally, KeyCorp reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $310.00 price objective on shares of MKS in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, MKS has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $273.46.
Get Our Latest Stock Report on MKSI
Institutional Investors Weigh In On MKS
A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Penserra Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in MKS by 43.4% during the 3rd quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 295,963 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $36,631,000 after buying an additional 89,502 shares during the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd bought a new stake in MKS in the 3rd quarter worth $1,020,000. Prudential Financial Inc. grew its holdings in MKS by 13.1% in the 2nd quarter. Prudential Financial Inc. now owns 58,933 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $5,856,000 after acquiring an additional 6,846 shares during the last quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp increased its position in shares of MKS by 553.5% in the third quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 7,371 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $912,000 after acquiring an additional 6,243 shares during the period. Finally, Mizuho Markets Americas LLC increased its position in shares of MKS by 2.3% in the third quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC now owns 304,831 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $37,729,000 after acquiring an additional 6,725 shares during the period. 99.79% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
MKS Company Profile
(
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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