Mizuho Markets Americas LLC Sells 248,550 Shares of MKS Inc. $MKSI

Key Points

• Mizuho Markets Americas LLC cut its stake in MKS Inc. by 81.5% in the fourth quarter, selling 248,550 shares and ending with 56,281 shares worth about $9.0 million.
• MKS reported stronger-than-expected results for its latest quarter, with EPS of $2.30 versus the $2.00 estimate and revenue of $1.08 billion, up 15.2% year over year. The company also issued Q2 2026 guidance of $2.60 to $3.20 EPS.
• Analysts remain generally bullish on MKSI, with several raising price targets and the consensus rating sitting at Moderate Buy with a $318.77 target. The stock was trading near its 52-week high at $320.62 and was up 2.4% on the day.

Mizuho Markets Americas LLC lowered its stake in shares of MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI - Free Report) by 81.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 56,281 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after selling 248,550 shares during the quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC owned 0.08% of MKS worth $8,994,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MKSI. Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in MKS by 9,165.9% during the third 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 holdings in MKS by 63.4% during the second 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. Nomura Holdings Inc. grew its holdings in MKS by 316.9% during the third 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. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP bought a new stake in MKS during the third quarter worth $40,023,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in MKS by 44.2% during the second 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 buying an additional 301,223 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.79% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on MKSI shares. Needham & Company LLC upped their price target on MKS from $300.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Citigroup upped their price target on MKS from $290.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Mizuho set a $320.00 price target on MKS in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on MKS from $354.00 to $374.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on MKS from $255.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $318.77.

MKS Stock Up 2.4%

Shares of NASDAQ:MKSI opened at $320.62 on Friday. MKS Inc. has a 1 year low of $80.22 and a 1 year high of $326.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.70. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $266.09 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $218.17. The company has a market capitalization of $21.65 billion, a PE ratio of 67.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.17 and a beta of 1.98.

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $2.30 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.05 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $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. Analysts forecast that MKS Inc. will post 11.15 earnings per share for the current year.

MKS Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 3rd. MKS's dividend payout ratio is currently 20.92%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Gerald G. Colella sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $253.97, for a total transaction of $2,539,700.00. Following the transaction, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Peter Cannone III sold 1,350 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.40, for a total value of $409,590.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 7,794 shares in the company, valued at $2,364,699.60. This represents a 14.76% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 23,313 shares of company stock worth $6,253,264. 0.57% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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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