Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. Has $2.91 Million Stock Position in MKS Inc. $MKSI

Key Points

• Harbor Capital Advisors cut its stake in MKS by 23.2% to 18,221 shares valued at $2.91 million, while institutional investors now own 99.79% of the stock.
• Significant insider selling occurred recently — insiders sold 68,503 shares worth $17.29 million in the last 90 days, including Director Gerald Colella's 10,000-share sale (~$2.54M) and EVP Eric Taranto's 4,568-share sale (~$1.01M).
• Q4 results and outlook: MKS reported revenue of $1.03 billion (up 10.5% YoY) and EPS of $2.47 (missed by $0.04), raised its quarterly dividend to $0.25, and analysts have lifted price targets to a consensus near $273.

Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. cut its holdings in MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI - Free Report) by 23.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 18,221 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after selling 5,510 shares during the quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc.'s holdings in MKS were worth $2,912,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MKSI. USA Financial Formulas bought a new position in shares of MKS during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. bought a new stake in MKS in the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in MKS by 74.5% during the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 260 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the period. Danske Bank A S acquired a new position in MKS during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Winnow Wealth LLC bought a new position in MKS in the third quarter worth approximately $38,000. 99.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other MKS news, Director Gerald G. Colella sold 10,000 shares of MKS stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director directly owned 40,017 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,163,117.49. The trade was a 19.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Eric Robert Taranto sold 4,568 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 represents a 22.83% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 68,503 shares of company stock worth $17,288,099. Company insiders own 0.57% of the company's stock.

MKS Stock Performance

Shares of MKSI opened at $234.66 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 1.90. MKS Inc. has a 52 week low of $54.84 and a 52 week high of $269.91. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $236.67 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $182.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 1.71 and a current ratio of 2.71.

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

MKS Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 23rd were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This is a boost from MKS's previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 23rd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. MKS's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 22.88%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MKSI has been the subject of a number of research reports. Needham & Company LLC raised their price objective on MKS from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on MKS from $265.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of MKS from $210.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Mizuho set a $320.00 price target on shares of MKS in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of MKS from $295.00 to $290.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 20th. One equities research 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $273.08.

MKS Company 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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