MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) EVP Sells $359,690.15 in Stock

MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) EVP Eric Robert Taranto sold 1,453 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $247.55, for a total transaction of $359,690.15. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 20,013 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,954,218.15. This trade represents a 6.77% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

MKS Stock Performance

MKSI opened at $255.91 on Thursday. MKS Inc. has a twelve month low of $54.84 and a twelve month high of $269.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.19 billion, a PE ratio of 58.56, a PEG ratio of 1.39 and a beta of 1.95. The company has a current ratio of 2.71, a quick ratio of 1.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $210.79 and its 200 day moving average price is $159.68.

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) last released its 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). The business had revenue of $1.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.02 billion. MKS had a return on equity of 20.85% and a net margin of 7.53%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.15 earnings per share. MKS has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.720-2.280 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that MKS Inc. will post 6.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MKS Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 23rd will be paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. This is an increase from MKS’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 23rd. MKS’s dividend payout ratio is presently 22.88%.

Key MKS News

Here are the key news stories impacting MKS this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Brokerages have pushed price targets higher and reiterated buy/overweight views, which supports upside expectations for MKSI. Price Target Raises
• Positive Sentiment: MKS increased its quarterly dividend to $0.25 (from $0.22), signaling confidence in cash flow and returning more capital to shareholders. Dividend & Stock Data
• Positive Sentiment: CEO John T.C. Lee will speak at Morgan Stanley’s Technology/Media/Telecom conference (March 2) — a visibility event that could provide fresh color on demand, margins and the roadmap. Conference Participation
• Neutral Sentiment: Q4 was mixed: revenue grew ~10.5% and slightly beat consensus, but EPS missed by ~$0.04 and Q1 EPS guidance (1.720–2.280) leaves room for interpretation on near‑term margins. This supports the growth story but may already be priced in. Earnings Summary
• Negative Sentiment: Significant insider selling reported Feb. 20–24: CEO and several executives/directors sold tens of thousands of shares (CEO sales alone roughly $7–8M), reducing some officers’ holdings materially — a near‑term negative that can pressure sentiment. CEO Form 4
• Negative Sentiment: Director Gerald G. Colella sold 10,000 shares (~$2.5M–$2.54M across filings), part of the broader wave of open‑market disposals that traders are watching. Colella Sale

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on MKSI shares. Bank of America boosted their price target on shares of MKS from $215.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Benchmark lifted their target price on shares of MKS from $135.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. KeyCorp reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $310.00 price target on shares of MKS in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of MKS from $200.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price objective on MKS from $200.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. One equities research 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 given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $273.46.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MKS

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of MKS by 4.0% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 7,752,097 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $959,477,000 after purchasing an additional 295,480 shares during the period. Cooke & Bieler LP lifted its stake in MKS by 7.7% during the third quarter. Cooke & Bieler LP now owns 1,321,877 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $163,609,000 after purchasing an additional 94,692 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its stake in MKS by 30.8% during the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,265,365 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $156,602,000 after purchasing an additional 297,850 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of MKS by 2.9% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,258,108 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $125,025,000 after buying an additional 35,065 shares during the period. Finally, Channing Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of MKS by 79.3% in the second quarter. Channing Capital Management LLC now owns 991,298 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $98,495,000 after buying an additional 438,338 shares in the last quarter. 99.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About MKS

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.