Norges Bank Makes New $147.45 Million Investment in MKS Inc. $MKSI

Key Points

• Norges Bank opened a new position in MKS Inc., buying 922,737 shares worth about $147.45 million and ending the quarter with roughly 1.37% ownership.
• MKS recently reported strong quarterly results, posting $2.30 EPS versus $2.00 expected and revenue of $1.08 billion, while also guiding Q2 2026 EPS at $2.60–$3.20.
• The stock has drawn mixed but generally positive attention from analysts: several firms raised price targets, and the consensus rating is “Moderate Buy” with an average target of $324.92.

Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 922,737 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock, valued at approximately $147,453,000. Norges Bank owned approximately 1.37% of MKS at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MKSI. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in MKS by 9,165.9% during the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 446,248 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $55,232,000 after acquiring an additional 441,432 shares in the last quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of MKS by 63.4% during the 2nd quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 878,114 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $87,249,000 after acquiring an additional 340,645 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. increased its holdings in shares of MKS by 316.9% during the 3rd quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. now owns 426,509 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $52,789,000 after acquiring an additional 324,195 shares during the last quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP acquired a new position in shares of MKS during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $40,023,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE increased its holdings in shares of MKS by 44.2% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 982,643 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $97,635,000 after acquiring an additional 301,223 shares during the last quarter. 99.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

MKS Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MKSI opened at $335.15 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.70. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $282.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $228.68. MKS Inc. has a one year low of $86.05 and a one year high of $341.81. The firm has a market cap of $22.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 70.12, a P/E/G ratio of 1.18 and a beta of 1.99.

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $2.30 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.00 by $0.30. MKS had a return on equity of 21.49% and a net margin of 8.06%.The firm had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.05 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.71 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter 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, equities analysts forecast that MKS Inc. will post 11.73 EPS for the current year.

MKS Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, EVP Kathleen Flaherty Burke sold 4,355 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $319.94, for a total value of $1,393,338.70. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 49,439 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,817,513.66. This trade represents a 8.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Eric Robert Taranto sold 4,568 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.52, for a total value of $1,007,335.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 15,445 shares in the company, valued at $3,405,931.40. The trade was a 22.83% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 56,423 shares of company stock valued at $17,758,856 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.57% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MKSI has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on MKS from $255.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Mizuho set a $400.00 target price on MKS in a report on Wednesday, May 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on MKS from $305.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of MKS in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Finally, TD Cowen reissued a "buy" rating on shares of MKS in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, MKS has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $324.92.

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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