Ceredex Value Advisors LLC Buys Shares of 200,125 MKS Inc. $MKSI

Ceredex Value Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 200,125 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,769,000. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC owned 0.30% of MKS at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. purchased a new position in MKS in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in MKS by 74.5% during the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 260 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Winnow Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in MKS in the third quarter valued at $38,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp acquired a new stake in MKS in the second quarter valued at $46,000. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC purchased a new position in shares of MKS in the third quarter valued at $49,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.79% of the company’s stock.

MKS Price Performance

NASDAQ:MKSI opened at $218.36 on Tuesday. MKS Inc. has a 12-month low of $54.84 and a 12-month high of $269.91. The firm has a market cap of $14.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.93. The company’s 50-day moving average is $222.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $167.48. 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 (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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.51 by ($0.04). The firm had revenue of $1.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.02 billion. MKS had a net margin of 7.53% and a return on equity of 20.85%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $2.15 EPS. MKS has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.720-2.280 EPS. Research analysts expect that MKS Inc. will post 6.94 EPS for the current year.

MKS Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 23rd were issued 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. MKS’s payout ratio is presently 22.88%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on MKSI. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of MKS from $135.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of MKS from $200.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their target price on shares of MKS from $200.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 20th. Mizuho set a $320.00 price target on shares of MKS in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on shares of MKS from $185.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, MKS has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $273.46.

Insider Activity at MKS

In related news, EVP Eric Robert Taranto sold 4,568 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.52, for a total value of $1,007,335.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 15,445 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,405,931.40. This represents a 22.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO John Tseng-Chung Lee sold 30,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $256.77, for a total value of $7,703,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 154,696 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $39,721,291.92. The trade was a 16.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 68,163 shares of company stock worth $17,215,417. Company insiders own 0.51% 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.