Insider Selling: MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) EVP Sells 1,453 Shares of 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 20,013 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,954,218.15. The trade was a 6.77% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

MKS Trading Down 2.5%

MKSI stock traded down $6.50 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $252.77. 646,595 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,665,215. The business has a 50 day moving average of $204.86 and a 200-day moving average of $156.84. MKS Inc. has a 52-week low of $54.84 and a 52-week high of $269.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.84, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 1.95. 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 (NASDAQ:MKSI) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $2.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.51 by ($0.04). MKS had a net margin of 7.53% and a return on equity of 20.85%. The firm had revenue of $1.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.02 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.15 EPS. The company’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, sell-side analysts expect that MKS Inc. will post 6.94 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MKS Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 23rd will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, February 23rd. This is a boost from MKS’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.4%. MKS’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 22.88%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on MKSI shares. Zacks Research raised MKS from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price target on MKS from $200.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. KeyCorp restated an “overweight” rating and set a $310.00 price target on shares of MKS in a research note on Wednesday. Wall Street Zen downgraded MKS from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, January 3rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of MKS in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, MKS currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $273.46.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On MKS

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. USA Financial Formulas acquired a new position in shares of MKS during the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc grew its position in MKS by 616.7% during the 4th quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 172 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. acquired a new position in MKS during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of MKS by 74.5% in the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 260 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 111 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.79% of the company’s stock.

MKS News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting MKS this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Management will present at Morgan Stanley’s Technology, Media & Telecom Conference on March 2 (live webcast available), providing a platform to update investors and field questions. This raises visibility and could support multiple analyst views. MKS Inc. to Participate in Morgan Stanley’s Technology, Media & Telecom Conference
• Positive Sentiment: Multiple published price‑target raises from analysts in the last 48 hours (examples include targets raised into the $255–$305 range), which signal continued bullish analyst conviction around MKS’s growth outlook. MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) Price Target Raised to $300.00
• Negative Sentiment: Significant insider selling disclosed (Feb. 20 filings): CEO John T.C. Lee sold 30,000 shares (~$7.7M at ~$256.77), and several EVPs/directors/CAO sold additional holdings. Large, clustered insider sales often prompt short‑term share weakness as investors interpret them as liquidity/rotation or signal on timing. SEC Form 4 for the CEO sale is posted. SEC Filing: John T.C. Lee Form 4

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.