Canada Pension Plan Investment Board Makes New $23.66 Million Investment in MKS Inc. $MKSI

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new stake in MKS Inc. (NASDAQ:MKSI) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 53,200 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,663,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board owned approximately 0.08% of MKS as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC boosted its stake in shares of MKS by 3.6% during the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 267,421 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $21,434,000 after acquiring an additional 9,170 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of MKS by 63.4% during the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 838 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $83,000 after purchasing an additional 325 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in shares of MKS by 3,545.6% during the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 141,267 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $14,036,000 after purchasing an additional 137,392 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of MKS during the second quarter valued at $1,676,000. Finally, AXA S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of MKS by 22.8% during the second quarter. AXA S.A. now owns 29,253 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $2,907,000 after purchasing an additional 5,430 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.79% of the company’s stock.

Key MKS News

Here are the key news stories impacting MKS this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts raised multiple earnings estimates. Zacks increased its Q3 2026 EPS forecast to $3.60 from $3.22 and its FY2026 estimate to $12.76 from $11.86. Estimates were also raised for FY2027 to $16.52 from $15.00 and FY2028 to $20.10 from $18.24. Several quarterly forecasts through 2028 were increased as well, signaling stronger expected earnings momentum. Earnings Estimates Moving Higher for MKS
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street price targets imply substantial potential upside. The average analyst target cited by Zacks indicates 49.8% potential appreciation, although the article cautions that price targets are not always reliable. The favorable earnings-revision trend could support the stock if it translates into stronger results. Wall Street Analysts Think MKS Could Surge
• Neutral Sentiment: Mizuho lowered its MKS price target to $330. The target reduction is a negative signal, but the revised target remains well above the level at which the stock recently traded. Mizuho Lowers MKS Price Target
• Negative Sentiment: The CEO sold company shares. CEO John Tseng-Chung Lee reportedly sold 10,000 shares for approximately $3 million. Insider selling can raise concerns about management’s view of near-term valuation or performance, even though it does not necessarily indicate a change in business fundamentals. MKS CEO Sells Shares

MKS Stock Performance

Shares of MKSI stock opened at $255.76 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $17.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.79, a P/E/G ratio of 0.57 and a beta of 1.98. MKS Inc. has a 1-year low of $97.50 and a 1-year high of $447.62. The company has a current ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.72 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.85. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $330.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $295.54.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.91 by $0.39. MKS had a return on equity of 24.72% and a net margin of 10.15%.The firm had revenue of $1.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.20 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.77 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 28.3% on a year-over-year basis. MKS has set its Q3 2026 guidance at 3.270-3.890 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that MKS Inc. will post 13.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

MKS Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at MKS

In other news, CAO Michelle M. Mccarthy sold 2,434 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $315.23, for a total value of $767,269.82. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 2 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $630.46. This represents a 99.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, EVP John Edward Williams sold 457 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $288.31, for a total transaction 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 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 12,891 shares of company stock valued at $3,919,127 over the last three months. 0.57% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on MKSI shares. Mizuho dropped their price target on MKS from $360.00 to $330.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Needham & Company LLC upped their price objective on shares of MKS from $360.00 to $390.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of MKS from $300.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, August 7th. KeyCorp lifted their target price on shares of MKS from $360.00 to $475.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of MKS from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, August 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $382.86.

MKS 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.