Meeder Advisory Services Inc. Acquires Shares of 5,145 MKS Inc. $MKSI

Meeder Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 5,145 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,288,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MKSI. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its stake in shares of MKS by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 267,421 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $21,434,000 after purchasing an additional 9,170 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in MKS by 63.4% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 838 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $83,000 after purchasing an additional 325 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its stake in MKS by 3,545.6% in the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 141,267 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $14,036,000 after purchasing an additional 137,392 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC bought a new stake in MKS in the second quarter valued at about $1,676,000. Finally, AXA S.A. increased its holdings in MKS by 22.8% in the second quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 29,253 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $2,907,000 after buying an additional 5,430 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.79% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at MKS

In other news, Director Joseph B. Donahue sold 2,100 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $327.95, for a total transaction of $688,695.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 10,033 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,290,322.35. This represents a 17.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO John Tseng-Chung Lee sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $302.01, for a total transaction of $3,020,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 134,776 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,703,699.76. This trade represents a 6.91% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 56,301 shares of company stock valued at $18,036,251 over the last three months. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Bank of America increased their target price on MKS from $380.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. KeyCorp boosted their price target on MKS from $360.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. Mizuho set a $360.00 price target on MKS in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “sell” rating and set a $265.00 price objective on shares of MKS in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of MKS from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $385.00.

MKS Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MKSI opened at $300.24 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $345.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $293.76. MKS Inc. has a 52-week low of $97.30 and a 52-week high of $447.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.89, a P/E/G ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.98.

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $3.30 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.91 by $0.39. The company had revenue of $1.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.20 billion. MKS had a return on equity of 24.72% and a net margin of 10.15%.The business’s revenue was up 28.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.77 earnings per share. MKS has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.270-3.890 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that MKS Inc. will post 12.96 earnings per share for the current year.

MKS Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 25th will be given a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 25th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. MKS’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 15.95%.

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.