Madison Asset Management LLC Lowers Position in MKS Inc. $MKSI

Madison Asset Management LLC trimmed its position in shares of MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) by 63.3% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 338,336 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 583,114 shares during the quarter. Madison Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.50% of MKS worth $77,753,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MKSI. USA Financial Formulas bought a new position in shares of MKS in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its stake in MKS by 560.0% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 165 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc grew its stake 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 worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the period. Danske Bank A S bought a new position in MKS in the third quarter worth $37,000. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC raised its holdings in MKS by 55.2% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 256 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.79% of the company’s stock.

MKS Price Performance

MKSI opened at $324.28 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $21.90 billion, a PE ratio of 67.84, a P/E/G ratio of 0.92 and a beta of 1.93. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $348.94 and a 200-day moving average price of $277.20. MKS Inc. has a 1 year low of $88.49 and a 1 year high of $447.62. 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) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $2.30 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.00 by $0.30. The company had revenue of $1.08 billion for 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%. MKS’s revenue for the quarter was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.71 EPS. MKS has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.600-3.200 EPS. Sell-side analysts predict that MKS Inc. will post 11.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MKS Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on MKSI. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of MKS from $290.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “sell” rating and issued a $265.00 price target on shares of MKS in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of MKS in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $453.00 price objective on the stock. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of MKS from $380.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald raised their target price on shares of MKS from $400.00 to $600.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $380.00.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Joseph B. Donahue sold 2,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $327.95, for a total value of $688,695.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 10,033 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,290,322.35. This represents a 17.31% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO John Tseng-Chung Lee sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.48, for a total value of $3,154,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 144,696 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $45,648,694.08. This represents a 6.46% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 53,949 shares of company stock valued at $17,446,108. Company insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

MKS 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.