VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al Takes $10.19 Million Position in MKS Inc. $MKSI

Key Points

• Virginia Retirement Systems acquired a new 22,900-share position in MKS worth approximately $10.19 million during the second quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds collectively own 99.79% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains generally positive, with MKS carrying a “Moderate Buy” consensus rating and an average price target of $382.86, despite one downgrade to “Hold.”
• MKS exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $3.30 in adjusted EPS versus a $2.91 estimate and $1.25 billion in revenue, up 28.3% year over year; the company also declared a $0.25 quarterly dividend.

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al purchased a new position in shares of MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI - Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 22,900 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock, valued at approximately $10,186,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MKSI. Keating Financial Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new stake in MKS during the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC grew its position in shares of MKS by 560.0% in the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 165 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc grew its position in shares of MKS by 616.7% in the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 172 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Allied Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of MKS in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Clearstead Trust LLC bought a new stake in shares of MKS in 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 news, EVP John Williams sold 457 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.31, for a total transaction of $131,757.67. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 4,098 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,181,494.38. The trade was a 10.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Elizabeth Mora sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.96, for a total value of $75,288.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 18,845 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,729,341.20. This trade represents a 1.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders sold 10,757 shares of company stock worth $3,227,146. Company insiders own 0.57% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MKSI has been the topic of several research reports. Weiss Ratings lowered MKS from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 25th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of MKS from $380.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of MKS from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. KeyCorp increased their target price on shares of MKS from $360.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on shares of MKS from $425.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, MKS presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $382.86.

MKS Stock Up 2.0%

MKS stock opened at $265.50 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 1.14. MKS Inc. has a one year low of $107.02 and a one year high of $447.62. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $308.96 and a 200-day simple moving average of $295.81. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.34, a P/E/G ratio of 0.55 and a beta of 1.98.

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

MKS Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 25th were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 25th. MKS's payout ratio is 15.95%.

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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