United Capital Financial Advisors LLC Invests $1.27 Million in MKS Inc. $MKSI

United Capital Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm bought 2,866 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,275,000.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MKSI. Keating Financial Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of MKS in the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Allied Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of MKS in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Clearstead Trust LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MKS in the 2nd quarter valued at $36,000. Ancora Advisors LLC purchased a new position in MKS in the 2nd quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in MKS by 47.5% in the 2nd quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 28 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 Edward Williams sold 457 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 3rd. The stock was 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 $1,181,494.38. This represents a 10.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CAO Michelle M. Mccarthy sold 2,434 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.23, for a total value of $767,269.82. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 2 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $630.46. This trade represents a 99.92% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 12,891 shares of company stock valued at $3,919,127 in the last ninety days. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

MKS News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting MKS this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts raised multiple earnings estimates. Zacks increased its Q3 2026 EPS forecast to $3.60 from $3.22 and its FY2026 estimate to $12.76 from $11.86. Estimates were also raised for FY2027 to $16.52 from $15.00 and FY2028 to $20.10 from $18.24. Several quarterly forecasts through 2028 were increased as well, signaling stronger expected earnings momentum. Earnings Estimates Moving Higher for MKS
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street price targets imply substantial potential upside. The average analyst target cited by Zacks indicates 49.8% potential appreciation, although the article cautions that price targets are not always reliable. The favorable earnings-revision trend could support the stock if it translates into stronger results. Wall Street Analysts Think MKS Could Surge
• Neutral Sentiment: Mizuho lowered its MKS price target to $330. The target reduction is a negative signal, but the revised target remains well above the level at which the stock recently traded. Mizuho Lowers MKS Price Target
• Negative Sentiment: The CEO sold company shares. CEO John Tseng-Chung Lee reportedly sold 10,000 shares for approximately $3 million. Insider selling can raise concerns about management’s view of near-term valuation or performance, even though it does not necessarily indicate a change in business fundamentals. MKS CEO Sells Shares

MKS Trading Down 5.6%

NASDAQ MKSI opened at $255.76 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.29 billion, a PE ratio of 40.79, a P/E/G ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 1.98. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $330.20 and its 200 day moving average is $295.54. MKS Inc. has a twelve month low of $97.50 and a twelve month high of $447.62. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $3.30 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.91 by $0.39. The business had revenue of $1.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.20 billion. MKS had a return on equity of 24.72% and a net margin of 10.15%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 28.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.77 earnings per share. MKS has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.270-3.890 EPS. Research analysts forecast that MKS Inc. will post 13.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MKS Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 25th. MKS’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.95%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on MKSI. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on MKS from $365.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Needham & Company LLC raised their target price on shares of MKS from $360.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of MKS from $374.00 to $442.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of MKS from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of MKS from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Tuesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have given a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $382.86.

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.