Hsbc Holdings PLC Sells 9,374 Shares of MKS Inc. $MKSI

Key Points

• HSBC Holdings PLC cut its MKS Inc. stake by 50% in the fourth quarter, selling 9,374 shares and ending with 9,390 shares valued at about $1.51 million.
• Insider selling has also picked up, with EVP David Philip Henry and Director Joseph B. Donahue both reducing their holdings; insiders sold 53,949 shares worth $17.4 million over the past 90 days.
• MKS reported strong results and upbeat guidance, beating earnings and revenue estimates in its latest quarter and raising Q2 2026 EPS guidance to $2.60-$3.20, while analysts maintain a Moderate Buy consensus with several price target increases.

Hsbc Holdings PLC decreased its holdings in shares of MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI - Free Report) by 50.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 9,390 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after selling 9,374 shares during the quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC's holdings in MKS were worth $1,511,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of MKS in the 4th quarter worth about $764,000. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC bought a new stake in MKS in the fourth quarter worth about $3,618,000. Mizuho Markets Cayman LP purchased a new position in shares of MKS during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,965,000. Blue Grotto Capital LLC grew its stake in shares of MKS by 13.2% during the third quarter. Blue Grotto Capital LLC now owns 211,848 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $26,220,000 after buying an additional 24,697 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of MKS in the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,764,000. Institutional investors own 99.79% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP David Philip Henry sold 2,500 shares of MKS stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $330.50, for a total transaction of $826,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 16,341 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,400,700.50. The trade was a 13.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Joseph B. Donahue sold 2,100 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the director directly owned 10,033 shares in the company, valued at $3,290,322.35. This trade represents a 17.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 53,949 shares of company stock worth $17,446,108 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.57% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on MKSI. TD Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of MKS in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. KeyCorp boosted their price target on shares of MKS from $360.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of MKS from $380.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. 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. Finally, BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of MKS in a research note on Tuesday. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $453.00 price objective for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, MKS currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $374.07.

MKS Trading Up 7.1%

NASDAQ MKSI opened at $445.50 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $30.09 billion, a PE ratio of 93.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 1.99. MKS Inc. has a 52 week low of $88.49 and a 52 week high of $447.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $329.19 and a 200 day moving average price of $257.85.

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $2.30 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.00 by $0.30. MKS had a return on equity of 21.49% and a net margin of 8.06%.The firm had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.05 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.71 EPS. The business'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, sell-side analysts forecast 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 was paid on Friday, June 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 3rd were paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 3rd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. MKS's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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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