Strs Ohio Boosts Holdings in MKS Inc. $MKSI

Key Points

• STRS Ohio increased its stake in MKS by 9.8% to 80,803 shares (about $12.9M), and institutional investors now own roughly 99.79% of the stock.
• Insider selling accelerated recently — company insiders sold 68,503 shares worth about $17.3M in the last quarter (notable sales by a director and the EVP), leaving insiders with roughly 0.57% ownership.
• Wall Street sentiment is broadly positive with a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target of $280.77; MKS slightly missed EPS estimates but reported 10.5% revenue growth and raised its quarterly dividend to $0.25.

Strs Ohio boosted its holdings in shares of MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI - Free Report) by 9.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 80,803 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after acquiring an additional 7,203 shares during the period. Strs Ohio owned about 0.12% of MKS worth $12,912,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. USA Financial Formulas purchased a new stake in shares of MKS during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. purchased a new stake in MKS during the 3rd quarter worth $30,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Danske Bank A S purchased a new stake in shares of MKS during the third quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Winnow Wealth LLC acquired a new position in MKS in the 3rd quarter worth $38,000. 99.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Jacqueline F. Moloney sold 340 shares of MKS stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.77, for a total transaction of $72,681.80. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 10,393 shares in the company, valued at $2,221,711.61. The trade was a 3.17% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, EVP Eric Robert Taranto sold 4,568 shares of MKS stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.52, for a total transaction of $1,007,335.36. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 15,445 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,405,931.40. This trade represents a 22.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 68,503 shares of company stock valued at $17,288,099. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their target price on shares of MKS from $265.00 to $305.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on MKS from $200.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $300.00 price objective on shares of MKS in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Needham & Company LLC increased their target price on MKS from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on MKS from $135.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $280.77.

MKS Stock Performance

Shares of MKSI opened at $291.53 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $19.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 66.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.98. MKS Inc. has a 12-month low of $71.49 and a 12-month high of $294.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 2.71 and a quick ratio of 1.71. The firm's 50 day moving average is $246.76 and its 200-day moving average is $202.28.

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $2.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $2.51 by ($0.04). MKS had a net margin of 7.53% and a return on equity of 20.85%. The company had revenue of $1.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.02 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $2.15 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. MKS has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.720-2.280 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that MKS Inc. will post 9.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MKS Increases Dividend

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

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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