Expect Equity LLC Makes New Investment in MKS Inc. $MKSI

Expect Equity LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 10,655 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,739,000. MKS comprises about 3.0% of Expect Equity LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its largest holding.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its holdings in MKS by 3.6% during 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 during the period. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in MKS by 63.4% in the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 838 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $83,000 after buying an additional 325 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in shares of MKS by 3,545.6% in the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 141,267 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $14,036,000 after buying an additional 137,392 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of MKS in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,676,000. Finally, AXA S.A. increased its stake in shares of MKS by 22.8% during 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 period. 99.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MKSI has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on MKS from $374.00 to $442.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Mizuho cut their price target on shares of MKS from $360.00 to $330.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of MKS in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. BMO Capital Markets began coverage on shares of MKS in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $453.00 price objective for the company. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “sell” rating and issued a $265.00 target price on shares of MKS in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, MKS has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $382.86.

Insider Activity at MKS

In other MKS news, CAO Michelle M. Mccarthy sold 2,434 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.23, for a total value of $767,269.82. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 2 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $630.46. The trade was a 99.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO John Tseng-Chung Lee sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $302.01, for a total value 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 represents a 6.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 12,891 shares of company stock valued at $3,919,127 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

MKS Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of NASDAQ MKSI opened at $270.48 on Wednesday. MKS Inc. has a 1 year low of $97.50 and a 1 year high of $447.62. The stock has a market cap of $18.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 1.98. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $337.91 and a 200 day moving average of $295.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 0.72.

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $3.30 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.91 by $0.39. The business had revenue of $1.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.77 earnings per share. MKS has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.270-3.890 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that MKS Inc. will post 12.96 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MKS Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 25th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 25th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. MKS’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.