MKS Inc. $MKSI Stock Position Raised by VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al

VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al boosted its position in shares of MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) by 21.4% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 27,800 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after buying an additional 4,900 shares during the period. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al’s holdings in MKS were worth $7,377,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in MKS in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,583,000. Childress Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of MKS during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $232,000. North Dakota State Investment Board boosted its holdings in shares of MKS by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. North Dakota State Investment Board now owns 2,054 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $545,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Victory Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MKS in the third quarter valued at approximately $315,000. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC grew its position in shares of MKS by 12.5% in the third quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 1,603 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $425,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares in the last quarter. 99.79% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on MKS from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Weiss Ratings lowered MKS from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Monday, September 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on MKS from $365.00 to $380.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. Needham & Company LLC raised their target price on MKS from $360.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Mizuho reduced their price target on MKS from $360.00 to $330.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $374.86.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other MKS news, EVP John Williams sold 457 shares of MKS stock in a transaction on Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.31, for a total value of $131,757.67. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 4,098 shares in the company, valued at $1,181,494.38. The trade was a 10.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO John Tseng-Chung Lee sold 10,000 shares of MKS stock in a transaction on Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $302.01, for a total value of $3,020,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 134,776 shares in the company, valued at $40,703,699.76. This represents a 6.91% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 10,757 shares of company stock valued at $3,227,146 over the last quarter. 0.57% of the stock is owned by insiders.

MKS Stock Performance

NASDAQ:MKSI opened at $202.04 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $248.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $277.20. MKS Inc. has a 1-year low of $134.74 and a 1-year high of $447.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 1.14 and a quick ratio of 0.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.22, a PEG ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 2.03.

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $3.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 net margin of 10.15% and a return on equity of 24.72%. The business’s revenue was up 28.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.77 EPS. MKS has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.270-3.890 EPS. Analysts forecast that MKS Inc. will post 13.14 EPS for the current year.

MKS Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 25th were paid a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 25th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.5%. MKS’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.95%.

About MKS

MKS Instruments, Inc (NASDAQ: MKSI) develops technologies that enable precision control and measurement in manufacturing and research environments. The company provides instruments, components, systems and process-control solutions used to measure and control pressure, flow, vacuum, gas delivery, temperature and other critical production conditions.

Its product portfolio includes vacuum solutions, pressure and flow-control instruments, gas and vapor delivery systems, plasma and reactive-gas technologies, power delivery systems, process-monitoring equipment, analytical instruments and materials-characterization tools.