Insider Selling: MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) EVP Sells 2,043 Shares of Stock

MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) EVP John Edward Williams sold 2,043 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.41, for a total transaction of $523,845.63. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president owned 3,640 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $933,332.40. This trade represents a 35.95% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

MKS Trading Down 2.5%

NASDAQ MKSI traded down $6.50 on Monday, reaching $252.77. The company had a trading volume of 646,595 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,665,215. The business has a 50 day moving average of $204.86 and a two-hundred day moving average of $156.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 2.71 and a quick ratio of 1.71. The firm has a market cap 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. MKS Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $54.84 and a fifty-two week high of $269.91.

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 20.85% and a net margin of 7.53%.The firm had revenue of $1.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.02 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.15 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly 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. Analysts forecast that MKS Inc. will post 6.94 EPS for the current year.

MKS Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 6th. Investors of record on Monday, February 23rd will be given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 23rd. This is a positive change from MKS’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. MKS’s payout ratio is 22.88%.

Institutional Trading of MKS

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. USA Financial Formulas purchased a new stake in shares of MKS in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its holdings 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 buying an additional 140 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc increased its stake in MKS by 616.7% in the 4th 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 in the last quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. bought a new stake in MKS during the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position 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 valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. 99.79% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on MKSI shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on shares of MKS from $265.00 to $305.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on MKS from $135.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a research note on Thursday. KeyCorp reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $310.00 price target on shares of MKS in a research report on Wednesday. Benchmark boosted their price objective on MKS from $135.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 7th. Finally, Mizuho set a $320.00 target price on shares of MKS in a research note on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $273.46.

Key MKS News

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

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.