NFJ Investment Group LLC Sells 16,129 Shares of MKS Inc. $MKSI

Key Points

• NFJ Investment Group cut its MKS stake by 15.9% in the fourth quarter, selling 16,129 shares and leaving it with 85,590 shares worth about $13.7 million.
• Insider selling has been notable, including CFO Ramakumar Mayampurath and EVP Kathleen Flaherty Burke, with insiders selling 53,949 shares over the last 90 days.
• MKS reported strong quarterly results, beating earnings and revenue estimates, while analysts currently rate the stock a “Moderate Buy” with an average price target of $324.92.

NFJ Investment Group LLC decreased its holdings in shares of MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI - Free Report) by 15.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 85,590 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after selling 16,129 shares during the period. NFJ Investment Group LLC owned 0.13% of MKS worth $13,677,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Focus Partners Wealth bought a new position in shares of MKS during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,184,000. Fieldview Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of MKS by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Fieldview Capital Management LLC now owns 25,208 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $4,028,000 after purchasing an additional 848 shares in the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP bought a new position in shares of MKS during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,117,000. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of MKS during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $954,000. Finally, Kestra Advisory Services LLC bought a new position in shares of MKS during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Institutional investors own 99.79% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of MKS from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, May 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "sell" rating and set a $265.00 price target on shares of MKS in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of MKS from $354.00 to $374.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, May 18th. Needham & Company LLC raised their price target on shares of MKS from $300.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price target on shares of MKS from $300.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $324.92.

Insider Buying and Selling at MKS

In other news, CFO Ramakumar Mayampurath sold 8,810 shares of MKS stock in a transaction on Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.48, for a total transaction of $2,779,378.80. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 1 shares in the company, valued at $315.48. This trade represents a 99.99% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP Kathleen Flaherty Burke sold 4,355 shares of MKS stock in a transaction on Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $319.94, for a total transaction of $1,393,338.70. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 49,439 shares in the company, valued at $15,817,513.66. This represents a 8.10% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 53,949 shares of company stock worth $17,446,108. Insiders own 0.57% of the company's stock.

MKS Trading Up 3.0%

Shares of MKSI stock opened at $355.69 on Friday. MKS Inc. has a 12-month low of $88.49 and a 12-month high of $359.35. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The firm's 50 day moving average is $295.59 and its 200 day moving average is $237.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $24.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 74.41, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.99.

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $2.30 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.00 by $0.30. The business had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.05 billion. MKS had a net margin of 8.06% and a return on equity of 21.49%. The company's revenue was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.71 EPS. MKS has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.600-3.200 EPS. Research analysts expect that MKS Inc. will post 11.73 earnings per share for the current year.

MKS Announces Dividend

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

About MKS

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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