MKS Inc. $MKSI Shares Sold by Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc.

Key Points

• Significant insider and institutional selling: Hudson Edge Investment Partners cut its stake in MKS by 39.3% (now 6,310 shares, ~$1.01M), while CEO John Tseng‑Chung Lee sold 30,000 shares for ~$7.7M and insiders have sold a total of 68,503 shares (~$17.3M) in the last 90 days.
• Solid revenue growth but high valuation: MKS reported revenue of $1.03B (up 10.5% YoY) and Q4 EPS of $2.47 (missed estimates by $0.04), has a market cap of $18.75B with a PE of 63.75, recently raised its quarterly dividend to $0.25, and carries an average analyst rating of "Moderate Buy" with a $273.08 price target.

Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc. lessened its stake in shares of MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI - Free Report) by 39.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 6,310 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after selling 4,078 shares during the quarter. Hudson Edge Investment Partners Inc.'s holdings in MKS were worth $1,008,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

MKS Stock Performance

MKSI opened at $278.59 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.75 billion, a PE ratio of 63.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.90. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $242.90 and its 200 day moving average price is $193.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 2.71 and a quick ratio of 1.71. MKS Inc. has a 12-month low of $58.85 and a 12-month high of $281.77.

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

MKS Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on MKSI shares. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of MKS from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, January 3rd. Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $300.00 price objective on shares of MKS in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Mizuho set a $320.00 price objective on shares of MKS in a report on Thursday, February 19th. KeyCorp reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $310.00 price objective on shares of MKS in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC boosted their price objective on shares of MKS from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $273.08.

Insider Transactions at MKS

In related news, CEO John Tseng-Chung Lee sold 30,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.77, for a total value of $7,703,100.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 154,696 shares of the company's stock, valued at $39,721,291.92. This represents a 16.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Elizabeth Mora sold 300 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $239.44, for a total value of $71,832.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 18,663 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,468,668.72. This represents a 1.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 68,503 shares of company stock valued at $17,288,099 over the last ninety days. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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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