Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Boosts Holdings in MKS Inc. $MKSI

Key Points

• Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH boosted its stake in MKS Inc. by 43% in Q4, owning 17,492 shares worth about $2.795 million after adding 5,259 shares.
• Analysts are broadly positive—one Strong Buy, eleven Buy, two Hold and one Sell—giving MKS an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $280.77, with several firms recently raising targets (e.g., Mizuho $320, Morgan Stanley $300).
• Insiders have been net sellers, disposing of 68,503 shares worth $17.29 million over the past 90 days (insider ownership now 0.57%), while institutional investors own 99.79% of the company.

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH grew its position in MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI - Free Report) by 43.0% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 17,492 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after buying an additional 5,259 shares during the period. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH's holdings in MKS were worth $2,795,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. USA Financial Formulas purchased a new stake in shares of MKS in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of MKS in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of MKS by 74.5% in the 3rd 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 during the period. Danske Bank A S purchased a new stake in shares of MKS in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Winnow Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MKS in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.79% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on MKSI. Mizuho set a $320.00 price target on shares of MKS in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Morgan Stanley reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $300.00 price target on shares of MKS in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of MKS from $200.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, January 22nd. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of MKS from $215.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, KeyCorp restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $310.00 price objective on shares of MKS in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, MKS has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $280.77.

Insider Activity at MKS

In other MKS news, Director Jacqueline F. Moloney sold 340 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.77, for a total transaction of $72,681.80. Following the sale, the director directly owned 10,393 shares in the company, valued at $2,221,711.61. This represents a 3.17% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Gerald G. Colella sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $253.97, for a total transaction of $2,539,700.00. Following the sale, the director owned 40,017 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,163,117.49. This trade represents a 19.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 68,503 shares of company stock worth $17,288,099 over the last 90 days. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

MKS Stock Performance

Shares of MKSI stock opened at $283.75 on Friday. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $246.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $201.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 1.71 and a current ratio of 2.71. MKS Inc. has a one year low of $70.51 and a one year high of $294.05. The firm has a market cap of $19.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 64.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.42 and a beta of 1.90.

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

MKS Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 23rd were issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 23rd. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. This is an increase from MKS's previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. 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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