Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Acquires Shares of 38,346 MKS Inc. $MKSI

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new position in shares of MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund bought 38,346 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,056,000.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Dorsey Wright & Associates purchased a new position in shares of MKS in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,329,000. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its holdings in MKS by 3,011.9% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 19,294 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $4,434,000 after buying an additional 18,674 shares in the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System lifted its position in shares of MKS by 7.8% during the 1st quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 123,288 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $28,333,000 after acquiring an additional 8,904 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MKS during the 1st quarter worth approximately $23,809,000. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MKS in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $3,512,000. 99.79% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other MKS news, CEO John Tseng-Chung Lee sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 134,776 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $40,703,699.76. This trade represents a 6.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 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 value of $131,757.67. Following the transaction, the executive vice president owned 4,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,181,494.38. This represents a 10.03% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 12,891 shares of company stock worth $3,919,127 over the last ninety days. 0.57% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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

MKS Stock Performance

Shares of MKSI stock opened at $255.76 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 1.14. MKS Inc. has a one year low of $97.50 and a one year high of $447.62. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $330.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $295.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.79, a PEG ratio of 0.54 and a beta of 1.98.

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

MKS Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 25th will be paid 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 15.95%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MKSI has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “sell” rating and issued a $265.00 price target on shares of MKS in a report on Thursday, May 7th. BMO Capital Markets assumed coverage on shares of MKS in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $453.00 target price for the company. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of MKS from $425.00 to $430.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of MKS from $365.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of MKS from $374.00 to $442.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $382.86.

MKS Company 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.