MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) Price Target Lowered to $290.00 at Citigroup

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) had its price objective cut by Citigroup from $295.00 to $290.00 in a research note published on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock.

MKSI has been the topic of several other research reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on MKS from $210.00 to $255.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of MKS from $215.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Mizuho set a $320.00 price objective on shares of MKS in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their target price on shares of MKS from $200.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC raised their target price on shares of MKS from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $273.08.

MKS Price Performance

MKSI stock opened at $227.13 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $231.43 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $174.09. The stock has a market cap of $15.27 billion, a PE ratio of 51.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 1.94. The company has a current ratio of 2.71, a quick ratio of 1.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.53. MKS has a 1 year low of $54.84 and a 1 year high of $269.91.

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $2.47 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.51 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $1.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.02 billion. MKS had a net margin of 7.53% and a return on equity of 20.85%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.15 earnings per share. MKS has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.720-2.280 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that MKS will post 6.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MKS Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 23rd were paid a $0.25 dividend. This is a boost from MKS’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. The ex-dividend date was Monday, February 23rd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.4%. MKS’s dividend payout ratio is currently 22.88%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Gerald G. Colella sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.97, for a total transaction of $2,539,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 40,017 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,163,117.49. This represents a 19.99% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Jacqueline F. Moloney sold 340 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $213.77, for a total transaction of $72,681.80. Following the transaction, the director owned 10,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,221,711.61. The trade was a 3.17% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 68,503 shares of company stock worth $17,288,099. 0.57% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of MKS

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in MKSI. Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of MKS by 14.7% in the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 390 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $63,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of MKS by 10.4% during the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 530 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $85,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of MKS by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC now owns 4,335 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $693,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its position in MKS by 6.9% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 898 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $144,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC raised its position in MKS by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Northwestern Mutual Investment Management Company LLC now owns 15,028 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $2,401,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 99.79% of the company’s stock.

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.