Sterling Capital Management LLC Sells 9,929 Shares of MKS Inc. $MKSI

Sterling Capital Management LLC trimmed its position in MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) by 58.5% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,058 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 9,929 shares during the quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC’s holdings in MKS were worth $1,622,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Impact Partnership Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of MKS in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $764,000. Oliver Luxxe Assets LLC bought a new position in shares of MKS during the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,618,000. Mizuho Markets Cayman LP acquired a new stake in MKS in the 4th quarter valued at $27,965,000. Blue Grotto Capital LLC boosted its stake in MKS by 13.2% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Grotto Capital LLC now owns 211,848 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $26,220,000 after buying an additional 24,697 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. bought a new stake in MKS in the fourth quarter valued at $3,764,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.79% of the company’s stock.

MKS Stock Up 7.0%

Shares of NASDAQ MKSI opened at $416.00 on Tuesday. MKS Inc. has a 12-month low of $88.49 and a 12-month high of $421.58. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $325.85 and its 200 day simple moving average is $255.89. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94. The company has a market cap of $28.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 87.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 1.99.

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 6th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $2.30 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.00 by $0.30. MKS had a net margin of 8.06% and a return on equity of 21.49%. The firm had revenue of $1.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.05 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.71 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. MKS has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.600-3.200 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that MKS Inc. will post 11.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MKS Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, June 3rd were given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, June 3rd. MKS’s payout ratio is 20.92%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MKSI. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on MKS from $354.00 to $374.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, May 18th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of MKS from $255.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, May 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of MKS from $305.00 to $365.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of MKS from $380.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC boosted their price target on shares of MKS from $300.00 to $360.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, ten have given a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, MKS has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $368.00.

Insider Transactions at MKS

In other news, EVP Kathleen Flaherty Burke sold 4,355 shares of MKS stock in a transaction on Monday, May 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $319.94, for a total value of $1,393,338.70. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 49,439 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,817,513.66. This trade represents a 8.10% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP David Philip Henry sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $330.50, for a total value of $826,250.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 16,341 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,400,700.50. The trade was a 13.27% 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 a total of 53,949 shares of company stock worth $17,446,108 over the last ninety days. 0.57% of the stock is currently owned by 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.