Los Angeles Capital Management LLC Takes Position in Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS)

Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS) during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 107,692 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,495,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MAS. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Masco in the fourth quarter worth $122,144,000. Confluence Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Masco during the first quarter worth about $78,181,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its position in Masco by 1,307.8% during the 3rd quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 686,794 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $36,708,000 after purchasing an additional 638,010 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Masco by 443.5% during the third quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 502,157 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $26,829,000 after buying an additional 409,767 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Qube Research & Technologies Ltd increased its holdings in Masco by 87.3% in the 3rd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 815,888 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $43,609,000 after purchasing an additional 380,267 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.91% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on MAS. Citigroup increased their target price on Masco from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. StockNews.com lowered Masco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Loop Capital decreased their price target on shares of Masco from $79.00 to $76.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Masco from $79.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their target price on shares of Masco from $75.00 to $74.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $72.15.

Masco Stock Performance

Shares of MAS stock opened at $69.39 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 18.76, a current ratio of 1.74 and a quick ratio of 1.09. Masco Co. has a 12-month low of $47.66 and a 12-month high of $78.94. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $69.93 and a 200 day simple moving average of $70.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.27.

Masco (NYSE:MAS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The construction company reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.87 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $1.93 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.94 billion. Masco had a net margin of 11.60% and a return on equity of 865.37%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.87 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Masco Co. will post 4.11 EPS for the current year.

Masco Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 24th were given a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 23rd. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.67%. Masco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.43%.

About Masco

Masco Corporation designs, manufactures, and distributes home improvement and building products in North America, Europe, and internationally. The company's Plumbing Products segment offers faucets, showerheads, handheld showers, valves, bath hardware and accessories, bathing units, shower bases and enclosures, sinks, toilets, acrylic tubs, shower trays, spas, exercise pools, and fitness systems; brass, copper, and composite plumbing system components; connected water products; thermoplastic solutions, extruded plastic profiles, specialized fabrications, and PEX tubing products; and other non-decorative plumbing products.