Jacqueline Moloney Sells 1,000 Shares of MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) Stock

MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) Director Jacqueline Moloney sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $312.20, for a total transaction of $312,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 8,775 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,739,555. This trade represents a 10.23% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

MKS Trading Down 3.4%

Shares of MKSI opened at $303.17 on Friday. MKS Inc. has a twelve month low of $80.22 and a twelve month high of $326.83. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 63.42, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.98. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $257.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $212.40.

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $2.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.00 by $0.30. The company had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.05 billion. MKS had a net margin of 8.06% and a return on equity of 21.49%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.71 EPS. MKS has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.600-3.200 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that MKS Inc. will post 11.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MKS Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 3rd. MKS’s payout ratio is presently 20.92%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of MKS during the 4th quarter worth about $147,453,000. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP acquired a new position in shares of MKS in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $95,880,000. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP lifted its stake in shares of MKS by 159.7% during 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 buying an additional 516,409 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC lifted 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 valued at $55,232,000 after buying an additional 441,432 shares during the period. Finally, Rafferty Asset Management LLC boosted its position in MKS by 63.4% during the second quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 878,114 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $87,249,000 after acquiring an additional 340,645 shares during the last quarter. 99.79% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on MKSI. Mizuho set a $320.00 price target on MKS in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of MKS from $215.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of MKS from $290.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of MKS from $305.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald upped their target price on MKS from $300.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $317.23.

MKS Company Profile

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.