Polaris Capital Management LLC Buys 39,900 Shares of MKS Inc. $MKSI

Polaris Capital Management LLC lifted its position in MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) by 11.0% during the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 401,300 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after acquiring an additional 39,900 shares during the period. MKS accounts for 3.3% of Polaris Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 7th largest position. Polaris Capital Management LLC’s holdings in MKS were worth $49,669,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC raised its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 9,170 shares during the period. Strs Ohio acquired a new stake in MKS during the first quarter worth $4,239,000. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its stake in MKS by 63.9% during the second quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 952 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $95,000 after acquiring an additional 371 shares during the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its position in MKS by 265.5% in the second quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 837 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $83,000 after purchasing an additional 608 shares during the period. Finally, Wedmont Private Capital acquired a new position in shares of MKS in the 2nd quarter valued at $280,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.79% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at MKS

In related news, Director Elizabeth Mora sold 300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $158.81, for a total transaction of $47,643.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 18,963 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,011,514.03. This represents a 1.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.51% of the company’s stock.

MKS Stock Performance

Shares of MKSI stock opened at $185.92 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $158.77 and a two-hundred day moving average of $130.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.49 billion, a PE ratio of 45.13, a P/E/G ratio of 1.71 and a beta of 1.92. The company has a quick ratio of 1.81, a current ratio of 2.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64. MKS Inc. has a 52 week low of $54.84 and a 52 week high of $188.71.

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, November 5th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.80 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $988.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $963.87 million. MKS had a return on equity of 20.80% and a net margin of 7.25%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.72 earnings per share. MKS has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 1.930-2.610 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that MKS Inc. will post 6.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MKS Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 24th were paid a $0.22 dividend. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.5%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 24th. MKS’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 21.36%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on MKSI. KeyCorp raised their price objective on MKS from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Mizuho set a $215.00 target price on shares of MKS in a research note on Friday. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of MKS from $122.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 12th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $175.00 price target on shares of MKS and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $200.00 price objective on shares of MKS in a research report on Tuesday, December 16th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, MKS presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $176.91.

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.