Royce & Associates LP Sells 210,522 Shares of MKS Inc. $MKSI

Key Points

• Royce & Associates LP cut its MKS stake by 25.5% in the fourth quarter, selling 210,522 shares and leaving it with 616,605 shares valued at about $98.5 million.
• Insiders have also been selling: EVP Kathleen Flaherty Burke and Director Peter Cannone III both reduced their holdings, and insiders have sold 13,313 shares over the past 90 days.
• MKS reported strong results and raised expectations, with Q1 earnings and revenue both beating estimates, quarterly revenue up 15.2% year over year, and analysts generally maintaining a bullish view with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy.”

Royce & Associates LP reduced its stake in shares of MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI - Free Report) by 25.5% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 616,605 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after selling 210,522 shares during the period. MKS accounts for about 1.0% of Royce & Associates LP's portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest holding. Royce & Associates LP owned approximately 0.92% of MKS worth $98,533,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MKSI. Penserra Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of MKS by 43.4% during the 3rd quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 295,963 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $36,631,000 after buying an additional 89,502 shares during the period. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of MKS during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $1,020,000. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MKS during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $3,618,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp raised its position in shares of MKS by 553.5% during the 3rd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 7,371 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $912,000 after buying an additional 6,243 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Grotto Capital LLC raised its position in shares of MKS by 13.2% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Grotto Capital LLC now owns 211,848 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $26,220,000 after buying an additional 24,697 shares during the period. 99.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at MKS

In other news, EVP Kathleen Flaherty Burke sold 4,355 shares of the company's 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 sale, the executive vice president owned 49,439 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $15,817,513.66. This represents a 8.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Peter Cannone III sold 1,350 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $303.40, for a total value of $409,590.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 7,794 shares in the company, valued at $2,364,699.60. This represents a 14.76% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 13,313 shares of company stock valued at $3,713,564. Insiders own 0.57% of the company's stock.

MKS Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MKSI opened at $320.62 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $21.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 67.08, a PEG ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.98. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. MKS Inc. has a 52-week low of $80.22 and a 52-week high of $326.83. The business's 50 day moving average is $268.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $219.98.

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $2.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.00 by $0.30. The company had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.05 billion. MKS had a return on equity of 21.49% and a net margin of 8.06%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.71 earnings per share. MKS has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.600-3.200 EPS. Research analysts predict that MKS Inc. will post 11.15 EPS for the current year.

MKS Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Needham & Company LLC lifted 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. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of MKS from $290.00 to $355.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of MKS from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday. Mizuho set a $320.00 price target on shares of MKS in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of MKS from $255.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $318.77.

MKS 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MKSI? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.