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

Key Points

• Assenagon Asset Management cut its MKS stake by 35% in the second quarter, selling 12,902 shares and retaining 24,009 shares valued at approximately $10.7 million. Institutional investors collectively own 99.79% of the company.
• MKS reported a quarterly earnings beat, posting $3.30 EPS and $1.25 billion in revenue, up 28.3% year over year. The company provided third-quarter 2026 EPS guidance of $3.27–$3.89.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with MKS receiving a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $385; the company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lowered its stake in MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI - Free Report) by 35.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 24,009 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after selling 12,902 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.'s holdings in MKS were worth $10,679,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in MKS by 1.1% in the first quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 4,274 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $982,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in MKS by 14.7% during the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 390 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its position in shares of MKS by 10.4% in the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 530 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $85,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC increased its position in shares of MKS by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 4,335 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $693,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC raised its holdings in shares of MKS by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC now owns 15,028 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $2,401,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.79% of the company's stock.

MKS Stock Down 4.1%

MKSI opened at $292.35 on Tuesday. MKS Inc. has a one year low of $97.30 and a one year high of $447.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 1.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 1.98. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $347.29 and its 200-day simple moving average is $290.28.

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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. MKS had a return on equity of 24.72% and a net margin of 10.15%.The firm had revenue of $1.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.20 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.77 EPS. The business's revenue was up 28.3% on a year-over-year basis. MKS has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.270-3.890 EPS. Analysts anticipate that MKS Inc. will post 12.05 EPS for the current year.

MKS Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 25th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. 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 Tuesday, August 25th. MKS's payout ratio is presently 15.95%.

Insider Transactions at MKS

In other MKS news, Director Joseph B. Donahue sold 2,100 shares of the firm'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 transaction, the director directly owned 10,033 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,290,322.35. This trade represents a 17.31% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Gerald G. Colella sold 20,000 shares of MKS stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $333.40, for a total transaction of $6,668,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 20,017 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,673,667.80. This represents a 49.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 50,051 shares of company stock worth $16,184,527 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.57% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MKSI has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of MKS from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on MKS in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $453.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on MKS from $374.00 to $442.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $360.00 price target on MKS in a report on Friday, July 31st. Finally, Wall Street Zen raised MKS from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Saturday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, MKS has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $385.00.

MKS 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MKSI? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source