QRG Capital Management Inc. Sells 3,258 Shares of MKS Inc. $MKSI

QRG Capital Management Inc. decreased its stake in shares of MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) by 44.9% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,998 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 3,258 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in MKS were worth $495,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new stake in MKS during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $85,391,000. Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of MKS by 843.4% in the 2nd quarter. Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. now owns 690,287 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $68,587,000 after purchasing an additional 617,113 shares during the period. Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC lifted its stake in shares of MKS by 146.4% in the 2nd quarter. Frontier Capital Management Co. LLC now owns 912,380 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $90,654,000 after purchasing an additional 542,094 shares during the period. Channing Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of MKS by 79.3% during the second quarter. Channing Capital Management LLC now owns 991,298 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $98,495,000 after purchasing an additional 438,338 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Rafferty Asset Management LLC grew its stake in MKS by 63.4% in the second quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 878,114 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $87,249,000 after purchasing an additional 340,645 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.79% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about MKS

Here are the key news stories impacting MKS this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Multiple brokerages boosted ratings and price targets (buy/overweight calls and higher targets), increasing investor demand — notable raises include Cantor Fitzgerald to $300, Needham to $260, Morgan Stanley to $258, Bank of America to $255 and TD Cowen to $230. These upgrades are the primary catalyst for buying interest today. Cantor Fitzgerald Boosts MKS Price Target Needham raise Additional coverage
• Positive Sentiment: Shares reached new highs intraday / 52‑week/all‑time highs following the analyst activity and optimism around upcoming results — momentum itself can attract more buyers and short‑covering. Investing.com all‑time high 52‑week high after upgrade
• Neutral Sentiment: MKS updated Q4 guidance: revenue guidance came in above consensus (roughly ~$1.0B vs. ~$994M est.), while EPS guidance was effectively in line or marginally below consensus — mixed fundamentals that support revenue momentum but leave EPS visibility somewhat uncertain. Seeking Alpha: guidance
• Neutral Sentiment: MKS plans meetings with existing and prospective lenders about a comprehensive capital‑structure refinancing — could reduce financing costs or extend maturities (positive long term) but also signals elevated leverage attention in the near term. TipRanks: refinancing
• Negative Sentiment: Wells Fargo raised its price target to $210 but kept an “equal weight” rating, implying limited upside from current levels and offering a more cautious stance than other brokers — this could cap some of the rally if investors favor that view. TickerReport / Wells Fargo Benzinga note

MKS Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of MKS stock opened at $223.00 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a quick ratio of 1.81 and a current ratio of 2.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.98 billion, a PE ratio of 54.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 1.92. MKS Inc. has a 52-week low of $54.84 and a 52-week high of $233.11. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $167.87 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $135.41.

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.80 by $0.13. MKS had a net margin of 7.25% and a return on equity of 20.80%. The firm had revenue of $988.00 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $963.87 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.72 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. MKS has set its Q4 2025 guidance at 1.930-2.610 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that MKS Inc. will post 6.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MKS Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, November 24th were paid a $0.22 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, November 24th. This represents a $0.88 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.4%. MKS’s payout ratio is currently 21.36%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have commented on MKSI. Citigroup raised their price objective on MKS from $122.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 12th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of MKS from $215.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price objective on shares of MKS from $200.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of MKS in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of MKS from $175.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $227.75.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Elizabeth Mora sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $158.81, for a total transaction of $47,643.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 18,963 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,011,514.03. This trade represents a 1.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.