Bessemer Group Inc. Has $25.25 Million Stock Holdings in MKS Inc. $MKSI

Key Points

• Bessemer Group Inc. cut its MKS stake by 25.5% in the fourth quarter, but still held 158,030 shares valued at about $25.25 million at the end of the period.
• Insider selling has been notable, with directors and executives selling shares over the past 90 days; total insider sales reached 75,258 shares worth about $19.44 million.
• MKS reported strong quarterly results, beating EPS and revenue estimates, while analysts remain generally bullish with an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $317.23.

Bessemer Group Inc. trimmed its stake in shares of MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI - Free Report) by 25.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 158,030 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after selling 54,011 shares during the quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. owned approximately 0.24% of MKS worth $25,252,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MKSI. Millennium Management LLC increased its position in MKS by 9,165.9% during the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 446,248 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $55,232,000 after purchasing an additional 441,432 shares in the last quarter. 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. Nomura Holdings Inc. increased its position in MKS by 316.9% during the 3rd quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. now owns 426,509 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $52,789,000 after purchasing an additional 324,195 shares in the last quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP acquired a new position in MKS during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $40,023,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in 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 worth $97,635,000 after purchasing an additional 301,223 shares in the last quarter. 99.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at MKS

In other news, Director Jacqueline F. Moloney sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $312.20, for a total transaction of $312,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 8,775 shares in the company, valued at $2,739,555. This represents a 10.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Kathleen Flaherty Burke sold 4,355 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $319.94, for a total value of $1,393,338.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 49,439 shares in the company, valued at $15,817,513.66. This represents a 8.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 75,258 shares of company stock valued at $19,440,224 over the last 90 days. 0.57% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MKSI has been the subject of several recent research reports. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price target on shares of MKS from $300.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of MKS from $305.00 to $365.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft restated a "buy" rating and issued a $380.00 price target on shares of MKS in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Mizuho set a $320.00 price target on shares of MKS in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of MKS from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $317.23.

MKS Trading Down 3.4%

Shares of NASDAQ MKSI opened at $303.17 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a current ratio of 1.11. MKS Inc. has a 52-week low of $80.22 and a 52-week high of $326.83. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $257.56 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $212.40. The stock has a market cap of $20.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 63.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.98.

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $2.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.05 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.71 earnings per share. MKS's revenue for the quarter was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. MKS has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.600-3.200 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that MKS Inc. will post 11.29 EPS for the current year.

MKS Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, June 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, June 3rd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. MKS's dividend payout ratio is 20.92%.

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.

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