MKS Inc. $MKSI Stock Holdings Increased by M&T Bank Corp

Key Points

• M&T Bank Corp boosted its stake in MKS by 298.0%, adding 62,262 shares to hold 83,154 shares worth about $13.29 million (roughly 0.12% of the company).
• Analysts hold a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” with an average price target of $280.77 after multiple upgrades and target increases (e.g., BofA to $255 and Cantor Fitzgerald to $400).
• Company insiders sold 68,503 shares (~$17.29 million) in the past three months; MKS reported Q4 revenue of $1.03 billion (up 10.5%) and EPS of $2.47 (missed by $0.04), and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.25.

M&T Bank Corp raised its holdings in shares of MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI - Free Report) by 298.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 83,154 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after acquiring an additional 62,262 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp owned approximately 0.12% of MKS worth $13,288,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MKSI. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its stake in MKS by 3.6% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 267,421 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $21,434,000 after acquiring an additional 9,170 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of MKS by 63.4% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 838 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $83,000 after buying an additional 325 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of MKS by 3,545.6% in the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 141,267 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $14,036,000 after acquiring an additional 137,392 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MKS in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,676,000. Finally, AXA S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of MKS by 22.8% in the second quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 29,253 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $2,907,000 after acquiring an additional 5,430 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.79% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently issued reports on MKSI. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of MKS from $215.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of MKS in a report on Tuesday. Zacks Research raised MKS from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on MKS from $210.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price objective on MKS from $300.00 to $400.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $280.77.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Gerald G. Colella sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.97, for a total value of $2,539,700.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 40,017 shares in the company, valued at $10,163,117.49. The trade was a 19.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Eric Robert Taranto sold 4,568 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.52, for a total value of $1,007,335.36. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 15,445 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,405,931.40. This represents a 22.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders sold 68,503 shares of company stock worth $17,288,099. Company insiders own 0.57% of the company's stock.

MKS Stock Up 0.8%

NASDAQ MKSI opened at $280.56 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 2.71 and a quick ratio of 1.71. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $244.92 and its 200 day simple moving average is $196.32. MKS Inc. has a 12 month low of $67.87 and a 12 month high of $289.49. The company has a market capitalization of $18.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 64.20, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.90.

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $2.47 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.51 by ($0.04). MKS had a return on equity of 20.85% and a net margin of 7.53%.The business had revenue of $1.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.02 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $2.15 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. MKS has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.720-2.280 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that MKS Inc. will post 9.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MKS Increases Dividend

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

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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