Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 7,715 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock, valued at approximately $3,432,000.
Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of MKS by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,254,049 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $200,438,000 after acquiring an additional 5,551 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in shares of MKS by 44.2% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 982,643 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $97,635,000 after purchasing an additional 301,223 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of MKS during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $147,453,000. Rafferty Asset Management LLC increased its position in MKS by 63.4% during the 2nd quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 878,114 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $87,249,000 after purchasing an additional 340,645 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in MKS by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 870,654 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $139,131,000 after purchasing an additional 24,349 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.79% of the company's stock.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In other MKS news, Director Joseph B. Donahue sold 2,100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $327.95, for a total transaction of $688,695.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director 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 document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Michelle M. Mccarthy sold 2,434 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.23, for a total transaction of $767,269.82. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 2 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $630.46. The trade was a 99.92% 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 sold a total of 37,491 shares of company stock valued at $12,102,072 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.57% of the company's stock.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
A number of brokerages have weighed in on MKSI. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of MKS from a "hold (c)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "sell" rating and set a $265.00 price target on shares of MKS in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $600.00 price target on shares of MKS in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Citigroup raised their price objective on MKS from $425.00 to $430.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on MKS from $365.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $385.00.
Read Our Latest Report on MKS
MKS Stock Performance
NASDAQ MKSI opened at $279.11 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $18.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.52, a PEG ratio of 0.59 and a beta of 1.98. MKS Inc. has a twelve month low of $97.50 and a twelve month high of $447.62. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $341.95 and a 200 day simple moving average of $294.68. 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 - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $3.30 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 had a return on equity of 24.72% and a net margin of 10.15%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 28.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.77 EPS. MKS has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.270-3.890 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that MKS Inc. will post 12.96 EPS for the current year.
MKS Dividend Announcement
The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 25th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 25th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. MKS's dividend payout ratio is presently 15.95%.
MKS Company Profile
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Free Report)
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.
See Also
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This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.
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