Madison Asset Management LLC Takes $140.87 Million Position in MKS Inc. $MKSI

Madison Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 316,694 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, valued at approximately $140,866,000. MKS makes up 1.7% of Madison Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest holding. Madison Asset Management LLC owned about 0.47% of MKS as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dorsey Wright & Associates purchased a new position in shares of MKS during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,329,000. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its holdings in MKS by 3,011.9% in the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 19,294 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $4,434,000 after acquiring an additional 18,674 shares in the last quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System increased its holdings in MKS by 7.8% in the 1st quarter. California Public Employees Retirement System now owns 123,288 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $28,333,000 after acquiring an additional 8,904 shares in the last quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new position in MKS during the first quarter worth $23,809,000. Finally, Anson Funds Management LP purchased a new position in MKS during the first quarter valued at $3,792,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.79% of the company’s stock.

MKS Stock Down 6.2%

Shares of MKSI opened at $281.60 on Thursday. MKS Inc. has a 52-week low of $97.30 and a 52-week high of $447.62. The company has a market capitalization of $19.04 billion, a PE ratio of 44.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 1.98. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $344.76 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $294.03. The company has a quick ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.14 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 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.91 by $0.39. MKS had a net margin of 10.15% and a return on equity of 24.72%. The company had revenue of $1.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.20 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.77 EPS. MKS’s revenue was up 28.3% on a year-over-year basis. MKS has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.270-3.890 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that MKS Inc. will post 12.96 EPS for the current year.

MKS Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 3rd. Investors of record on Tuesday, August 25th will be given a $0.25 dividend. This represents a $1.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.4%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, August 25th. MKS’s dividend payout ratio is presently 15.95%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on MKSI shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of MKS from $374.00 to $442.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of MKS from $425.00 to $430.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $600.00 price target on shares of MKS in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on MKS from $360.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. Finally, TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of MKS in a research note on Thursday, May 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, MKS presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $385.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO John Tseng-Chung Lee sold 10,000 shares of the company’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 owned 134,776 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $40,703,699.76. This represents a 6.91% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Gerald G. Colella sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $333.40, for a total value of $6,668,000.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 20,017 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,673,667.80. This represents a 49.98% 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. Insiders sold a total of 56,301 shares of company stock valued at $18,036,251 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.