Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS) Shares Acquired by Private Advisor Group LLC

Private Advisor Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS) by 6.9% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,622 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 688 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC’s holdings in Masco were worth $708,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Masco by 62.4% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 354 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 136 shares during the period. Ballentine Partners LLC grew its position in Masco by 2.5% during the 1st quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 5,513 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $435,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Masco by 3.6% in the second quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,127 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $275,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. BOKF NA boosted its position in shares of Masco by 2.5% in the first quarter. BOKF NA now owns 6,178 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $480,000 after buying an additional 149 shares during the period. Finally, Blair William & Co. IL grew its holdings in shares of Masco by 1.8% during the first quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 9,516 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $751,000 after buying an additional 165 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Kenneth G. Cole sold 37,814 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.32, for a total value of $2,961,592.48. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 36,980 shares in the company, valued at $2,896,273.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MAS. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Masco from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Masco from $78.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Masco from $73.00 to $66.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Masco from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Masco from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $77.58.

Masco Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MAS opened at $81.25 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $75.59 and its 200-day simple moving average is $72.91. Masco Co. has a 52 week low of $47.66 and a 52 week high of $82.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.18, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.76. The firm has a market cap of $17.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.24.

Masco (NYSE:MAS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The construction company reported $1.20 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.18 by $0.02. Masco had a net margin of 11.59% and a return on equity of 602.39%. The company had revenue of $2.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.10 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.19 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Masco Co. will post 4.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Masco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 2nd were paid a $0.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 2nd. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.43%. Masco’s payout ratio is presently 28.43%.

Masco Profile

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.