Barclays PLC Sells 939,049 Shares of MKS Inc. $MKSI

Key Points

• Barclays PLC cut its stake in MKS by 71.9%, selling 939,049 shares in Q3 and leaving 367,148 shares valued at about $45.4M (≈0.55% of the company).
• Insider selling has been notable: insiders sold 68,163 shares (~$17.2M) over the last 90 days, including Director Gerald Colella (10,000 shares at $253.97) and EVP Eric Taranto (4,568 shares at $220.52), leaving insiders with ~0.51% ownership.
• MKS reported Q4 EPS of $2.47 (miss vs. $2.51 est.) but revenue of $1.03B topped estimates, the company raised its quarterly dividend to $0.25, and analysts have lifted price targets (average target ≈$273) while the stock trades near $218 (market cap ≈ $14.7B).

Barclays PLC lowered its holdings in shares of MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI - Free Report) by 71.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 367,148 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after selling 939,049 shares during the quarter. Barclays PLC owned 0.55% of MKS worth $45,442,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MKSI. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in MKS by 30.8% during the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,265,365 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $156,602,000 after buying an additional 297,850 shares in the last quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky increased its position in shares of MKS by 1.9% during the third quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 38,963 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $4,822,000 after acquiring an additional 718 shares during the period. Journey Strategic Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of MKS by 2.8% during the third quarter. Journey Strategic Wealth LLC now owns 6,450 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $798,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares during the period. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in shares of MKS during the third quarter valued at approximately $96,000. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its stake in shares of MKS by 522.7% during the third quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 109,600 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $13,565,000 after acquiring an additional 92,000 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.79% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at MKS

In related news, Director Gerald G. Colella sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.97, for a total transaction of $2,539,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 40,017 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,163,117.49. This represents a 19.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Eric Robert Taranto sold 4,568 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.52, for a total transaction of $1,007,335.36. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 15,445 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,405,931.40. This trade represents a 22.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 68,163 shares of company stock worth $17,215,417. 0.51% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

MKS Stock Up 4.0%

Shares of NASDAQ MKSI opened at $218.36 on Tuesday. MKS Inc. has a 12-month low of $54.84 and a 12-month high of $269.91. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $222.10 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $167.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.68 billion, a PE ratio of 49.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.93. The company has a current ratio of 2.71, a quick ratio of 1.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53.

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $2.47 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.51 by ($0.04). MKS had a return on equity of 20.85% and a net margin of 7.53%.The company had revenue of $1.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.02 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $2.15 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. MKS has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.720-2.280 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that MKS Inc. will post 6.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MKS Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 23rd were issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 23rd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.5%. This is an increase from MKS's previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. MKS's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.88%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on MKSI shares. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price objective on MKS from $200.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Bank of America lifted their target price on MKS from $215.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Needham & Company LLC upped their target price on MKS from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price target on MKS from $265.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded MKS from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $273.46.

About MKS

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.

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