Old West Investment Management LLC Purchases Shares of 8,790 MKS Inc. $MKSI

Old West Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 8,790 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,910,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MKSI. Global Retirement Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of MKS by 560.0% in the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 165 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the period. IFP Advisors Inc grew its position in MKS by 616.7% during the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 172 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Allied Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in MKS during the second quarter valued at about $33,000. Clearstead Trust LLC bought a new position in MKS during the second quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Danske Bank A S acquired a new position in MKS in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Institutional investors own 99.79% of the company’s stock.

MKS Stock Performance

MKSI stock opened at $310.73 on Monday. MKS Inc. has a 1-year low of $97.30 and a 1-year high of $447.62. The firm has a market cap of $21.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.56, a P/E/G ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.98. The business’s 50 day moving average is $345.69 and its 200-day moving average is $292.67. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85.

MKS (NASDAQ:MKSI) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $3.30 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.91 by $0.39. The business had revenue of $1.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.20 billion. MKS had a return on equity of 24.72% and a net margin of 10.15%.MKS’s revenue was up 28.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.77 EPS. MKS has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.270-3.890 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that MKS Inc. will post 12.96 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MKS Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, August 25th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. MKS’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.95%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on MKSI shares. Needham & Company LLC raised their price objective on MKS from $360.00 to $390.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. KeyCorp upped their target price on MKS from $360.00 to $475.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Weiss Ratings raised MKS from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “sell” rating and set a $265.00 price target on shares of MKS in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $360.00 price target on shares of MKS in a report on Friday, July 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $385.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, EVP John Edward Williams sold 457 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $288.31, for a total value of $131,757.67. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 4,098 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,181,494.38. This represents a 10.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Joseph B. Donahue sold 2,100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $327.95, for a total transaction of $688,695.00. Following the sale, the director owned 10,033 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,290,322.35. This trade represents a 17.31% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 46,301 shares of company stock worth $15,016,151 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.57% of the company’s stock.

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.