Capital International Investors Reduces Position in MKS Inc. $MKSI

Key Points

• Capital International Investors trimmed its MKS stake by 0.5% in the fourth quarter, but still held 3.24 million shares worth about $517.6 million, or roughly 4.82% of the company.
• MKS reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $2.30 topping estimates and revenue of $1.08 billion beating expectations; revenue rose 15.2% year over year and the company issued Q2 2026 EPS guidance of 2.60 to 3.20.
• Insider selling was notable, including two directors selling shares in late May, while analysts currently rate the stock Moderate Buy with an average price target of $324.92.

Capital International Investors cut its position in shares of MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI - Free Report) by 0.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,239,230 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after selling 15,433 shares during the period. Capital International Investors owned approximately 4.82% of MKS worth $517,629,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in MKS during the 4th quarter valued at about $147,453,000. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP boosted its holdings in shares of MKS by 159.7% in the fourth quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 839,773 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $134,196,000 after purchasing an additional 516,409 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 441,432 shares in the last quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 340,645 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nomura Holdings Inc. grew its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 324,195 shares in the last quarter. 99.79% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MKSI has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded MKS from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, May 23rd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of MKS in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their target price on shares of MKS from $300.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "sell" rating and set a $265.00 target price on shares of MKS in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC lifted their price objective on shares of MKS from $300.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have assigned a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $324.92.

Insider Transactions at MKS

In other MKS news, Director Gerald G. Colella sold 20,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $333.40, for a total value of $6,668,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 20,017 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,673,667.80. The trade was a 49.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Joseph B. Donahue sold 2,100 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $327.95, for a total value of $688,695.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 10,033 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,290,322.35. This represents a 17.31% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 51,855 shares of company stock valued at $16,751,520. 0.57% of the stock is owned by insiders.

MKS Stock Performance

MKSI opened at $301.65 on Monday. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $285.07 and its 200-day moving average price is $231.12. The company has a market cap of $20.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 63.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.07 and a beta of 1.99. MKS Inc. has a 52-week low of $88.46 and a 52-week high of $341.81. 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 (NASDAQ:MKSI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $2.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.00 by $0.30. The business had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.05 billion. MKS had a net margin of 8.06% and a return on equity of 21.49%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.71 earnings per share. MKS has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.600-3.200 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that MKS Inc. will post 11.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MKS Dividend Announcement

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

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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