Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Invests $17.06 Million in MKS Inc. $MKSI

Key Points

• Ohio’s public employees retirement system bought a new $17.06 million stake in MKS, acquiring 38,346 shares. Institutional investors and hedge funds now own 99.79% of the company.
• MKS exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $3.30 in EPS on $1.25 billion in revenue, with revenue up 28.3% year over year. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $382.86, despite mixed target revisions.
• Insiders sold 12,891 shares worth about $3.9 million during the quarter, including the CEO’s approximately $3.02 million sale. MKS also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share, equivalent to a 0.4% annual yield.

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new stake in shares of MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 38,346 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock, valued at approximately $17,056,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio owned 0.06% of MKS at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Keating Financial Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in MKS in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of MKS by 560.0% in the fourth 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 during the period. IFP Advisors Inc raised its stake in 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 period. Allied Private Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MKS in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Clearstead Trust LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MKS during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. 99.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at MKS

In other MKS news, CAO Michelle M. Mccarthy sold 2,434 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.23, for a total transaction of $767,269.82. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 2 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $630.46. This trade represents a 99.92% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO John Tseng-Chung Lee sold 10,000 shares of MKS stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $302.01, for a total value of $3,020,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 134,776 shares in the company, valued at $40,703,699.76. This trade represents a 6.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 12,891 shares of company stock worth $3,919,127. Company insiders own 0.57% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MKSI has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Mizuho cut their price objective on MKS from $360.00 to $330.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "sell" rating and issued a $265.00 price objective on shares of MKS in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of MKS from $365.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on MKS from $374.00 to $442.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on MKS from $380.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $382.86.

MKS Stock Performance

NASDAQ MKSI opened at $255.76 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $330.20 and a two-hundred day moving average of $295.54. The company has a market capitalization of $17.29 billion, a PE ratio of 40.79, a P/E/G ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 1.98. MKS Inc. has a 1 year low of $97.50 and a 1 year high of $447.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 0.72.

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $3.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.91 by $0.39. The firm had revenue of $1.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.20 billion. MKS had a return on equity of 24.72% and a net margin of 10.15%.The business's revenue was up 28.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.77 EPS. MKS has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.270-3.890 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that MKS Inc. will post 13.07 earnings per share for the current year.

MKS Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 25th will be 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 of this dividend is Tuesday, August 25th. MKS's dividend payout ratio is presently 15.95%.

More MKS News

Here are the key news stories impacting MKS this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts raised multiple earnings estimates. Zacks increased its Q3 2026 EPS forecast to $3.60 from $3.22 and its FY2026 estimate to $12.76 from $11.86. Estimates were also raised for FY2027 to $16.52 from $15.00 and FY2028 to $20.10 from $18.24. Several quarterly forecasts through 2028 were increased as well, signaling stronger expected earnings momentum. Earnings Estimates Moving Higher for MKS
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street price targets imply substantial potential upside. The average analyst target cited by Zacks indicates 49.8% potential appreciation, although the article cautions that price targets are not always reliable. The favorable earnings-revision trend could support the stock if it translates into stronger results. Wall Street Analysts Think MKS Could Surge
• Neutral Sentiment: Mizuho lowered its MKS price target to $330. The target reduction is a negative signal, but the revised target remains well above the level at which the stock recently traded. Mizuho Lowers MKS Price Target
• Negative Sentiment: The CEO sold company shares. CEO John Tseng-Chung Lee reportedly sold 10,000 shares for approximately $3 million. Insider selling can raise concerns about management’s view of near-term valuation or performance, even though it does not necessarily indicate a change in business fundamentals. MKS CEO Sells Shares

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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