MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) Hits New 1-Year High - Here's Why

Key Points

• MKS stock hit a new 52-week high of $281.77 (last $278.49) after several brokers raised targets; the consensus rating is Moderate Buy with a consensus target of $273.08, which is below the current price.
• MKS reported $2.47 EPS (missed by $0.04) and $1.03B revenue (beat estimates), with revenue up 10.5% year‑over‑year and Q1 2026 guidance of $1.72–$2.28 EPS.
• Insiders have sold ~68,503 shares (~$17.3M) in the last 90 days even as institutional ownership sits at ~99.8%; the company also raised its quarterly dividend to $0.25 ($1.00 annual, ~0.4% yield).

MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI - Get Free Report)'s stock price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $281.77 and last traded at $278.4910, with a volume of 70860 shares. The stock had previously closed at $269.89.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on MKSI. Mizuho set a $320.00 target price on MKS in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their target price on MKS from $265.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 19th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on MKS from $200.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on MKS from $135.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on MKS from $215.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $273.08.

MKS Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.71, a current ratio of 2.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53. The stock has a market cap of $18.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 63.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.90. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $242.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $191.18.

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $2.47 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.51 by ($0.04). The business had revenue of $1.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.02 billion. MKS had a return on equity of 20.85% and a net margin of 7.53%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.15 EPS. MKS has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.720-2.280 EPS. Analysts predict that MKS Inc. will post 6.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MKS Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 23rd were given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. This is a positive change from MKS's previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 23rd. MKS's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 22.88%.

Insider Transactions at MKS

In other MKS news, Director Gerald G. Colella sold 10,000 shares of MKS stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.97, for a total transaction of $2,539,700.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 40,017 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,163,117.49. The trade was a 19.99% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP John Edward Williams sold 2,043 shares of MKS stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.41, for a total transaction of $523,845.63. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 3,640 shares in the company, valued at approximately $933,332.40. The trade was a 35.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 68,503 shares of company stock valued at $17,288,099 in the last 90 days. 0.57% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MKS

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MKSI. Norges Bank purchased a new position in MKS during the 4th quarter worth approximately $147,453,000. Southpoint Capital Advisors LP purchased a new position in MKS during the 4th quarter worth approximately $95,880,000. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP grew its position in MKS by 159.7% during the 4th quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP now owns 839,773 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $134,196,000 after purchasing an additional 516,409 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its position in MKS by 9,165.9% during the 3rd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 446,248 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $55,232,000 after purchasing an additional 441,432 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rafferty Asset Management LLC grew its position in MKS by 63.4% during the 2nd quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 878,114 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $87,249,000 after purchasing an additional 340,645 shares in the last quarter. 99.79% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.

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.