MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) CFO Sells $2,779,378.80 in Stock

MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) CFO Ramakumar Mayampurath sold 8,810 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.48, for a total value of $2,779,378.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 1 shares in the company, valued at $315.48. This represents a 99.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

MKS Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MKSI opened at $323.41 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $274.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $223.75. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. MKS Inc. has a 12-month low of $80.22 and a 12-month high of $339.00. The company has a market cap of $21.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 67.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.98.

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $2.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.00 by $0.30. MKS had a net margin of 8.06% and a return on equity of 21.49%. The company had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.05 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.71 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. MKS has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.600-3.200 EPS. Equities analysts expect that MKS Inc. will post 11.54 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 paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 3rd. MKS’s payout ratio is 20.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on MKSI. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their target price on shares of MKS from $300.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “sell” rating and issued a $265.00 price target on shares of MKS in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of MKS from $290.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of MKS from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target 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. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $324.92.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MKS

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of MKSI. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its stake in shares of MKS by 3.6% in the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 267,421 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $21,434,000 after acquiring an additional 9,170 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in MKS by 63.4% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 838 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $83,000 after buying an additional 325 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP increased its position in MKS by 3,545.6% during the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 141,267 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $14,036,000 after buying an additional 137,392 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC acquired a new position in MKS during the second quarter worth $1,676,000. Finally, AXA S.A. increased its position in MKS by 22.8% during the second quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 29,253 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $2,907,000 after buying an additional 5,430 shares during the last quarter. 99.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.