Fifth Third Bancorp Cuts Holdings in MKS Inc. $MKSI

Fifth Third Bancorp decreased its stake in shares of MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) by 90.6% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 620 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 5,999 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp’s holdings in MKS were worth $99,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Penserra Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of MKS by 43.4% in the 3rd quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 295,963 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $36,631,000 after acquiring an additional 89,502 shares during the last quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in shares of MKS in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,020,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp increased its holdings in shares of MKS by 553.5% in the 3rd quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 7,371 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $912,000 after acquiring an additional 6,243 shares during the last quarter. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC purchased a new position in shares of MKS in the 4th quarter valued at about $3,618,000. Finally, Mizuho Markets Americas LLC increased its holdings in shares of MKS by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Mizuho Markets Americas LLC now owns 304,831 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $37,729,000 after acquiring an additional 6,725 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.79% of the company’s stock.

MKS Trading Up 4.1%

NASDAQ:MKSI opened at $313.21 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $249.12 and its 200 day moving average price is $205.60. The company has a market capitalization of $21.09 billion, a PE ratio of 65.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 1.98. The company has a quick ratio of 1.71, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. MKS Inc. has a 52-week low of $78.62 and a 52-week high of $326.83.

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 6th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $2.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.00 by $0.30. The firm had revenue of $1.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.05 billion. MKS had a return on equity of 21.49% and a net margin of 8.06%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.71 EPS. MKS has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.600-3.200 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that MKS Inc. will post 9.89 EPS for the current year.

MKS Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 6th. Shareholders of record on Monday, February 23rd were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, February 23rd. This is a positive change from MKS’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.22. MKS’s payout ratio is 22.88%.

MKS News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting MKS this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Citigroup raised its price target on MKS Inc. to $355 from $290 and kept a buy rating, implying more upside from current levels. Citigroup price target raise
• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan lifted its target to $365 from $305 and maintained an overweight rating, reinforcing bullish sentiment around the stock. JPMorgan price target raise
• Positive Sentiment: Needham increased its target to $360 from $300 and reiterated a buy rating, adding to the list of analysts turning more constructive on MKS. Needham price target raise

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MKSI has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of MKS in a report on Tuesday, April 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price objective on MKS from $300.00 to $400.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Zacks Research upgraded MKS from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on MKS from $305.00 to $365.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on MKS from $215.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 22nd. 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 issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $317.23.

Insider Activity at MKS

In other MKS news, Director Jacqueline F. Moloney sold 340 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $213.77, for a total transaction of $72,681.80. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 10,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,221,711.61. This trade represents a 3.17% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Elizabeth Mora sold 300 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $239.44, for a total value of $71,832.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 18,663 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,468,668.72. The trade was a 1.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 68,503 shares of company stock worth $17,288,099 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

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.