John Edward Williams Sells 457 Shares of MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) Stock

MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) EVP John Edward Williams sold 457 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 4,098 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,181,494.38. This represents a 10.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

MKS Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ MKSI opened at $313.10 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.11, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The company has a market capitalization of $21.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 65.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.98. MKS Inc. has a twelve month low of $88.49 and a twelve month high of $447.62. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $348.82 and a 200-day simple moving average of $288.38.

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $3.30 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.91 by $0.39. MKS had a net margin of 8.06% and a return on equity of 21.49%. The firm had revenue of $1.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.20 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.77 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 28.3% on a year-over-year basis. MKS has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.270-3.890 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that MKS Inc. will post 11.81 earnings per share for the current year.

MKS Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, August 25th will be issued a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 25th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. MKS’s payout ratio is 20.92%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On MKS

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. USA Financial Formulas grew its holdings in MKS by 462.2% in the 1st quarter. USA Financial Formulas now owns 922 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $212,000 after buying an additional 758 shares in the last quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in MKS by 47.5% during the 2nd quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. raised its stake in MKS by 19.5% during the 2nd quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 3,857 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $1,716,000 after acquiring an additional 629 shares in the last quarter. Allied Private Wealth LLC acquired a new position in MKS during the 2nd quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC boosted its position in MKS by 2.8% during the 2nd quarter. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC now owns 23,048 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $10,252,000 after acquiring an additional 621 shares during the period. 99.79% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MKSI has been the topic of several research reports. Needham & Company LLC increased their price objective on shares of MKS from $300.00 to $360.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $600.00 target price on shares of MKS in a report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on MKS from $305.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating on shares of MKS in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of MKS in a research note on Friday, July 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $383.57.

MKS News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting MKS this week:

• Positive Sentiment: MKS reported second-quarter revenue of approximately $1.25 billion, up 28.3% year over year and ahead of the $1.20 billion analyst consensus. EPS of $3.30 also exceeded estimates of $2.91, while operating profit reached $251 million and operating cash flow totaled $243 million. MKS Inc. Reports Second Quarter 2026 Financial Results
• Positive Sentiment: Third-quarter guidance was stronger than expected: EPS of $3.27–$3.89 versus consensus of $3.17, and revenue of $1.3–$1.4 billion versus estimates of $1.2 billion. The outlook suggests continued demand for MKS’s semiconductor and advanced-manufacturing technologies.
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst sentiment remains favorable. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “Overweight” rating with a $600 target, while the broader analyst consensus is “Moderate Buy” with a target near $383.57.
• Neutral Sentiment: MKS declared its regular quarterly dividend of $0.25 per share, payable September 3 to shareholders of record August 25. The annualized yield is modest at roughly 0.3%, so the dividend is unlikely to be a major trading catalyst.
• Neutral Sentiment: Institutional positioning was mixed: 366 investors increased holdings in the latest quarter, while 254 reduced positions. Several large funds made substantial additions, but other major institutions cut their stakes.
• Negative Sentiment: Insider activity is a notable overhang. Quiver reported 40 insider sales and no purchases during the past six months, including sales by the CEO and other senior executives. A recent EVP sale was conducted under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan, which reduces its signaling value but does not eliminate investor concern.
• Negative Sentiment: At roughly 65–67 times earnings, MKS trades at a demanding valuation. With shares still well below their 52-week high and above the 50-day average, investors may be taking profits after the strong run and demanding evidence that the elevated growth rate can continue.

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.