K2 Principal Fund L.P. Buys Shares of 3,500 MKS Inc. $MKSI

K2 Principal Fund L.P. purchased a new stake in MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 3,500 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,557,000.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Allied Private Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of MKS during the 2nd quarter worth about $33,000. Clearstead Trust LLC acquired a new position in MKS in the second quarter valued at about $36,000. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in MKS by 47.5% in the second quarter. Carolina Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 87 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 28 shares during the last quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc purchased a new position in MKS during the second quarter worth about $47,000. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC boosted its stake in MKS by 560.0% during the fourth quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 165 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 140 shares during the period. 99.79% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

MKS Stock Down 6.4%

Shares of MKSI opened at $300.24 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $345.45 and its 200-day simple moving average is $293.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a current ratio of 1.14. MKS Inc. has a 1 year low of $97.30 and a 1 year high of $447.62. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.30 billion, a PE ratio of 47.89, a P/E/G ratio of 0.66 and a beta of 1.98.

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

MKS Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 25th will be paid a $0.25 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 25th. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.3%. MKS’s payout ratio is 15.95%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on MKSI shares. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of MKS from $425.00 to $430.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of MKS from $374.00 to $442.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of MKS from a “hold (c)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Mizuho set a $360.00 target price on MKS in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on MKS from $365.00 to $380.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $385.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at MKS

In related news, CAO Michelle M. Mccarthy sold 2,434 shares of MKS stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $315.23, for a total value of $767,269.82. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 2 shares in the company, valued at approximately $630.46. This trade represents a 99.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO John Tseng-Chung Lee sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $302.01, for a total value of $3,020,100.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 134,776 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $40,703,699.76. The trade was a 6.91% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 56,301 shares of company stock valued at $18,036,251. 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.