United Capital Financial Advisors LLC Buys New Shares in MKS Inc. $MKSI

United Capital Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 2,866 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,275,000.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Keating Financial Advisory Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of MKS during the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC raised its position in MKS by 560.0% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 165 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 140 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc raised its holdings in shares of MKS by 616.7% during 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. Allied Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of MKS in the second quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Clearstead Trust LLC bought a new position in MKS in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Institutional investors own 99.79% of the company’s stock.

MKS News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting MKS this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts raised multiple earnings estimates. Zacks increased its Q3 2026 EPS forecast to $3.60 from $3.22 and its FY2026 estimate to $12.76 from $11.86. Estimates were also raised for FY2027 to $16.52 from $15.00 and FY2028 to $20.10 from $18.24. Several quarterly forecasts through 2028 were increased as well, signaling stronger expected earnings momentum. Earnings Estimates Moving Higher for MKS
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street price targets imply substantial potential upside. The average analyst target cited by Zacks indicates 49.8% potential appreciation, although the article cautions that price targets are not always reliable. The favorable earnings-revision trend could support the stock if it translates into stronger results. Wall Street Analysts Think MKS Could Surge
• Neutral Sentiment: Mizuho lowered its MKS price target to $330. The target reduction is a negative signal, but the revised target remains well above the level at which the stock recently traded. Mizuho Lowers MKS Price Target
• Negative Sentiment: The CEO sold company shares. CEO John Tseng-Chung Lee reportedly sold 10,000 shares for approximately $3 million. Insider selling can raise concerns about management’s view of near-term valuation or performance, even though it does not necessarily indicate a change in business fundamentals. MKS CEO Sells Shares

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on MKSI shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $360.00 price target on shares of MKS in a report on Friday, July 31st. BMO Capital Markets initiated coverage on shares of MKS in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $453.00 target price on the stock. KeyCorp upped their price target on shares of MKS from $360.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on MKS from $365.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “sell” rating and issued a $265.00 price objective on shares of MKS in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, MKS has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $382.86.

MKS Price Performance

Shares of MKSI opened at $255.76 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. MKS Inc. has a 12-month low of $97.50 and a 12-month high of $447.62. The stock has a market cap of $17.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.79, a P/E/G ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 1.98. The business’s fifty day moving average is $330.20 and its 200 day moving average is $295.54.

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $3.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.91 by $0.39. The business had revenue of $1.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.20 billion. MKS had a return on equity of 24.72% and a net margin of 10.15%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 28.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.77 EPS. MKS has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.270-3.890 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that MKS Inc. will post 13.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MKS Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 25th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. MKS’s payout ratio is 15.95%.

Insider Activity at MKS

In other news, CAO Michelle M. Mccarthy sold 2,434 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.23, for a total transaction of $767,269.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 2 shares in the company, valued at approximately $630.46. This represents a 99.92% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP John Edward Williams sold 457 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.31, for a total transaction of $131,757.67. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 4,098 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,181,494.38. This trade represents a 10.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders sold 12,891 shares of company stock valued at $3,919,127. 0.57% of the stock is owned by insiders.

MKS 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.