MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) Director Peter Cannone III Sells 1,350 Shares

MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) Director Peter Cannone III sold 1,350 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $303.40, for a total transaction of $409,590.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 7,794 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,364,699.60. This represents a 14.76% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Peter Cannone III also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Friday, February 20th, Peter Cannone III sold 1,250 shares of MKS stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $258.06, for a total transaction of $322,575.00.

MKS Trading Down 4.0%

MKS stock traded down $11.91 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $283.80. The stock had a trading volume of 408,458 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,393,741. The stock has a market cap of $19.17 billion, a PE ratio of 59.49, a PEG ratio of 1.12 and a beta of 1.98. MKS Inc. has a 52 week low of $80.22 and a 52 week high of $326.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.11 and a quick ratio of 0.70. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $258.86 and a 200-day simple moving average of $213.97.

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $2.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.00 by $0.30. The business had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.05 billion. MKS had a net margin of 8.06% and a return on equity of 21.49%. The company’s revenue was up 15.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.71 EPS. MKS has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.600-3.200 EPS. Analysts forecast that MKS Inc. will post 11.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MKS Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, June 3rd will be issued a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, June 3rd. MKS’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 20.92%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Needham & Company LLC raised their price target on shares of MKS from $300.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of MKS in a research note on Tuesday, April 21st. KeyCorp lifted their target price on shares of MKS from $310.00 to $360.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Mizuho set a $320.00 target price on shares of MKS in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of MKS from $305.00 to $365.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, May 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have issued a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $318.77.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. USA Financial Formulas purchased a new position in MKS in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its holdings in MKS by 560.0% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 165 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc raised its holdings in MKS by 616.7% in the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 172 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in 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. Finally, Danske Bank A S purchased a new position in MKS in the third quarter worth about $37,000. 99.79% of the stock is 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.