Verdence Capital Advisors LLC Buys 13,594 Shares of MKS Inc. $MKSI

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 13,594 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,607,000.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Spyglass Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in MKS during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $52,720,000. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in MKS in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $231,673,000. Dorsey Wright & Associates purchased a new position in MKS in the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,329,000. Tidal Investments LLC boosted its stake in MKS by 42.2% in the 2nd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 44,846 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $19,948,000 after purchasing an additional 13,299 shares during the period. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its stake in MKS by 3,011.9% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 19,294 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $4,434,000 after purchasing an additional 18,674 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.79% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at MKS

In related news, EVP John Williams sold 457 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.31, for a total value of $131,757.67. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 4,098 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,181,494.38. The trade was a 10.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Elizabeth Mora sold 300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.96, for a total transaction of $75,288.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 18,845 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,729,341.20. The trade was a 1.57% 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. Insiders have sold 10,757 shares of company stock valued at $3,227,146 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on MKSI shares. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $600.00 price objective on shares of MKS in a report on Monday, August 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of MKS from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of MKS from $425.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $360.00 target price on shares of MKS in a research note on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of MKS from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday, September 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $374.86.

MKS Trading Up 4.9%

NASDAQ:MKSI opened at $212.16 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $14.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.84 and a beta of 2.03. MKS Inc. has a 12 month low of $134.74 and a 12 month high of $447.62. The business’s 50-day moving average is $252.60 and its 200 day moving average is $276.78.

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $3.30 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.91 by $0.39. The firm had revenue of $1.25 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.20 billion. MKS’s quarterly revenue was up 28.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.77 earnings per share. MKS has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.270-3.890 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that MKS Inc. will post 13.14 earnings per share for the current year.

MKS Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 25th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 25th. MKS’s dividend payout ratio is 15.95%.

About MKS

MKS Instruments, Inc (NASDAQ: MKSI) develops technologies that enable precision control and measurement in manufacturing and research environments. The company provides instruments, components, systems and process-control solutions used to measure and control pressure, flow, vacuum, gas delivery, temperature and other critical production conditions.

Its product portfolio includes vacuum solutions, pressure and flow-control instruments, gas and vapor delivery systems, plasma and reactive-gas technologies, power delivery systems, process-monitoring equipment, analytical instruments and materials-characterization tools.