Principal Financial Group Inc. Cuts Stake in MKS Inc. $MKSI

Key Points

• Principal Financial Group trimmed its MKS stake by 6.5% in Q4, selling 53,151 shares and now owning 765,595 shares (1.14%) valued at about $122.35 million, while institutional investors collectively hold 99.79% of the stock.
• MKS beat Q1 expectations with $2.30 EPS vs. $2.00 consensus and $1.08B revenue vs. $1.05B, and management raised Q2 guidance to $2.60–$3.20 EPS and roughly $1.2B in revenue.
• Analysts remain broadly positive (average rating “Moderate Buy” and average price target $280.77, with some targets as high as $400), but notable insider selling—68,503 shares (~$17.29M) in the last 90 days—could be a caution for investors.

Principal Financial Group Inc. cut its holdings in shares of MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI - Free Report) by 6.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 765,595 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after selling 53,151 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned 1.14% of MKS worth $122,353,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. USA Financial Formulas purchased a new stake in shares of MKS during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in MKS by 74.5% in the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 260 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares during the period. Danske Bank A S acquired a new position in MKS during the 3rd quarter worth $37,000. Winnow Wealth LLC acquired a new position in MKS during the 3rd quarter worth $38,000. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. increased its holdings in MKS by 1,734.8% during the 3rd quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 422 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $52,000 after purchasing an additional 399 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.79% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price objective on MKS from $300.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of MKS from $135.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of MKS from $295.00 to $290.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 20th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of MKS from $210.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on shares of MKS from $265.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $280.77.

MKS Trading Up 2.1%

NASDAQ:MKSI opened at $293.77 on Thursday. MKS Inc. has a 1 year low of $71.49 and a 1 year high of $298.00. The stock has a market cap of $19.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 67.22, a P/E/G ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 1.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 1.71 and a current ratio of 2.71. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $248.13 and a 200-day simple moving average of $204.44.

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI - Get Free Report) last posted its 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 firm had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.05 billion. MKS had a return on equity of 20.85% and a net margin of 7.53%.The firm's revenue was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.71 earnings per share. MKS has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.600-3.200 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that MKS Inc. will post 9.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MKS Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 23rd were issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 23rd. This is a positive change from MKS's previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. MKS's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.88%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Eric Robert Taranto sold 4,568 shares of the 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 15,445 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,405,931.40. This trade represents a 22.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO John Tseng-Chung Lee sold 30,000 shares of MKS stock in a transaction on Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.77, for a total transaction of $7,703,100.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 154,696 shares in the company, valued at $39,721,291.92. This represents a 16.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 68,503 shares of company stock worth $17,288,099. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Key Headlines Impacting MKS

Here are the key news stories impacting MKS this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 results beat expectations — MKS reported $2.30 EPS vs. a $2.00 consensus and revenue of $1.08B vs. $1.05B consensus, signaling better-than-expected execution and demand. MKS (MKSI) Q1 Earnings and Revenues Surpass Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Raised/strong Q2 guidance — management set Q2 2026 EPS guidance of $2.60–$3.20 (above the ~$2.37 consensus) and revenue guidance around $1.2B (above the ~$1.1B consensus), which supports upside to estimates and analyst revisions. MKS Inc. Reports First Quarter 2026 Financial Results
• Neutral Sentiment: Company metrics and disclosure — the firm reported a net margin of ~7.5% and ROE ~20.9%; the official press release/earnings deck is available for detail review. These help investors model forward cash flow but are not new surprises. View Press Release
• Neutral Sentiment: Pre-earnings and analyst coverage — recent previews and comparative pieces (e.g., Zacks, American Banking News) provide context for estimates and peer comparisons but did not introduce new material facts. Gear Up for MKS (MKSI) Q1 Earnings
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling headline — reports note insiders have been selling shares, which can create caution among some investors even as analysts turn more optimistic on earnings potential. Monitor magnitude and context of sales. Why MKS (MKSI) Insiders Are Selling

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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