MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) CEO Sells $3,020,100.00 in Stock

MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) CEO John Tseng-Chung Lee sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $302.01, for a total value of $3,020,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 134,776 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $40,703,699.76. This trade represents a 6.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

John Tseng-Chung Lee also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Friday, May 22nd, John Tseng-Chung Lee sold 10,000 shares of MKS stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.48, for a total transaction of $3,154,800.00.

MKS Stock Down 6.2%

Shares of MKSI opened at $281.60 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $19.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.91, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.98. MKS Inc. has a 52 week low of $97.30 and a 52 week high of $447.62. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $344.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $294.03. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85.

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $3.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.91 by $0.39. The business had revenue of $1.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.20 billion. MKS had a net margin of 10.15% and a return on equity of 24.72%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 28.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.77 EPS. MKS has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.270-3.890 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that MKS Inc. will post 12.96 EPS for the current year.

MKS Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 25th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 25th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. MKS’s payout ratio is currently 15.95%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Keating Financial Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of MKS in the second quarter valued at $25,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its stake in MKS by 560.0% during 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 raised its holdings 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 valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 148 shares during the period. Allied Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MKS during the 2nd quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Clearstead Trust LLC purchased a new position in MKS in the second quarter valued at about $36,000. 99.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on MKSI shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on MKS from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. KeyCorp raised their target price on MKS from $360.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. Mizuho set a $360.00 price target on shares of MKS in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Bank of America upped their target price 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, TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of MKS in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, MKS presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $385.00.

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.