MKS Inc. $MKSI Shares Acquired by Assenagon Asset Management S.A.

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management increased its MKS stake by 1,742.1% in the third quarter, purchasing 418,264 additional shares and bringing its holdings to 442,273 shares valued at approximately $117.4 million. Institutional investors collectively own 99.79% of MKS.
• MKS reported quarterly EPS of $3.30, exceeding estimates of $2.91, while revenue rose 28.3% year over year to $1.25 billion. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating with an average price target of $375.93.
• The stock opened at $214.83 after declining 6.0%, well below its 12-month high of $447.62. MKS also maintains a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share, equivalent to a 0.5% annual yield.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in shares of MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI - Free Report) by 1,742.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 442,273 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after buying an additional 418,264 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned 0.65% of MKS worth $117,362,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Loftus Peak Pty Ltd boosted its position in shares of MKS by 21.4% in the 3rd quarter. Loftus Peak Pty Ltd now owns 57,593 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $15,283,000 after purchasing an additional 10,157 shares in the last quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. purchased a new stake in shares of MKS in the third quarter worth $575,000. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC increased its holdings in shares of MKS by 19.5% during the third quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 1,262 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $329,000 after acquiring an additional 206 shares in the last quarter. Wedmont Private Capital increased its holdings in shares of MKS by 2.3% during the third quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 4,193 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $1,092,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of MKS by 13.5% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,667 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $973,000 after acquiring an additional 436 shares in the last quarter. 99.79% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on MKSI. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $360.00 price objective on shares of MKS in a research report on Friday, July 31st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of MKS from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of MKS from $380.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Needham & Company LLC increased their price target on shares of MKS from $360.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on shares of MKS from $425.00 to $430.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $375.93.

MKS Trading Down 6.0%

MKSI opened at $214.83 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. MKS Inc. has a 12 month low of $130.72 and a 12 month high of $447.62. The firm has a market cap of $14.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.26, a P/E/G ratio of 0.48 and a beta of 2.03. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $265.44 and a 200 day moving average of $299.66.

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $3.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.91 by $0.39. The company had revenue of $1.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.20 billion. MKS had a return on equity of 24.72% and a net margin of 10.15%. MKS's revenue was up 28.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.77 EPS. MKS has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.270-3.890 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that MKS Inc. will post 13.13 EPS for the current year.

MKS Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 25th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 25th. MKS's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling at MKS

In related news, Director Elizabeth Mora sold 300 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.96, for a total transaction of $75,288.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 18,845 shares in the company, valued at $4,729,341.20. The trade was a 1.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP John Williams sold 457 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.31, for a total value of $131,757.67. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 4,098 shares in the company, valued at $1,181,494.38. The trade was a 10.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 10,757 shares of company stock valued at $3,227,146. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

MKS Company Profile

MKS Instruments, Inc develops technologies used to measure, control and analyze the processes involved in manufacturing semiconductors, electronics, specialty materials and other industrial products. The company serves original equipment manufacturers and production facilities worldwide, with solutions spanning vacuum control, pressure measurement, gas and fluid delivery, process monitoring and control.

Its product portfolio includes vacuum gauges and valves, mass flow controllers, gas and vapor delivery systems, pressure controllers, plasma-generation and power-delivery systems, analytical instruments, lasers and photonics equipment.

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