MKS Inc. $MKSI Stake Lessened by Systematic Financial Management LP

Key Points

• Systematic Financial Management LP reduced its stake in MKS Inc. by 8.6% in the first quarter, selling 22,678 shares and leaving it with 242,063 shares valued at about $55.6 million.
• MKS reported strong quarterly results, with EPS of $2.30 beating estimates and revenue of $1.08 billion topping forecasts, while revenue rose 15.2% year over year.
• The company also saw recent insider selling, including notable sales by the CAO and an EVP, while analysts currently rate the stock a “Moderate Buy” with a consensus price target of $380.

Systematic Financial Management LP cut its stake in MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI - Free Report) by 8.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 242,063 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after selling 22,678 shares during the period. MKS accounts for 1.3% of Systematic Financial Management LP's portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position. Systematic Financial Management LP owned approximately 0.36% of MKS worth $55,629,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MKSI. USA Financial Formulas bought a new stake in shares of MKS in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of MKS by 560.0% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 165 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its position in shares of MKS by 616.7% during the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 172 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of MKS during the fourth quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC grew its stake in MKS by 55.2% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 256 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. 99.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

MKS Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:MKSI opened at $345.30 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. MKS Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $88.49 and a fifty-two week high of $447.62. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $350.79 and a 200 day simple moving average of $281.06. The company has a market cap of $23.32 billion, a PE ratio of 72.24, a P/E/G ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.93.

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $2.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $2.00 by $0.30. MKS had a net margin of 8.06% and a return on equity of 21.49%. The firm had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.05 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.71 earnings per share. MKS's revenue was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. MKS has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.600-3.200 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that MKS Inc. will post 11.77 EPS for the current year.

MKS Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 3rd were issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, June 3rd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. MKS's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.92%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other MKS news, CAO Michelle M. Mccarthy sold 2,434 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.23, for a total value of $767,269.82. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 2 shares of the company's stock, valued at $630.46. This trade represents a 99.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP David Philip Henry sold 2,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $330.50, for a total value of $826,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 16,341 shares in the company, valued at $5,400,700.50. The trade was a 13.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 53,949 shares of company stock worth $17,446,108. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on MKSI. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "sell" rating and issued a $265.00 price objective on shares of MKS in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Needham & Company LLC increased their target price on MKS from $300.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Citigroup lifted their target price on MKS from $290.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. KeyCorp boosted their price target on MKS from $360.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. Finally, Mizuho upped their price target on MKS from $400.00 to $415.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Two analysts have 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 data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $380.00.

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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