Kennedy Capital Management LLC Sells 14,031 Shares of MKS Inc. $MKSI

Kennedy Capital Management LLC decreased its position in MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) by 7.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 171,557 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 14,031 shares during the period. Kennedy Capital Management LLC’s holdings in MKS were worth $21,234,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. bought a new stake in shares of MKS during the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in MKS by 74.5% in 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 during the period. Winnow Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in MKS during the third quarter worth $38,000. Salomon & Ludwin LLC bought a new stake in MKS in the 3rd quarter valued at $49,000. Finally, Abich Financial Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of MKS in the 3rd quarter valued at $65,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.79% of the company’s stock.

MKS Price Performance

Shares of MKS stock traded up $2.44 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $215.93. 149,688 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,586,519. MKS Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $54.84 and a fifty-two week high of $269.91. The company has a market cap of $14.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 1.94. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $225.73 and a 200 day simple moving average of $169.03. 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 released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $2.47 EPS 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%. MKS’s quarterly revenue was up 10.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.15 earnings per share. MKS has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.720-2.280 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that MKS Inc. will post 6.94 EPS for the current fiscal year.

MKS Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 6th. Investors of record on Monday, February 23rd were issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 23rd. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.5%. This is a positive change from MKS’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. MKS’s payout ratio is 22.88%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently commented on MKSI. Mizuho set a $320.00 price objective on shares of MKS in a report on Thursday, February 19th. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of MKS from $200.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 22nd. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price target on shares of MKS from $200.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Zacks Research raised MKS from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on MKS from $185.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given 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, MKS presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $273.46.

Insider Transactions at MKS

In other MKS news, EVP Eric Robert Taranto sold 4,568 shares of MKS 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 owned 15,445 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,405,931.40. The trade was a 22.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Kathleen Flaherty Burke sold 4,254 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $1,063,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 53,794 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,448,500. This represents a 7.33% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 68,163 shares of company stock worth $17,215,417. 0.57% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.