Edgestream Partners L.P. Makes New Investment in Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS)

Edgestream Partners L.P. bought a new position in Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund bought 22,633 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,509,000.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Masco by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,300,591 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,074,591,000 after purchasing an additional 721,117 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in shares of Masco by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 9,830,723 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $655,414,000 after acquiring an additional 181,515 shares during the period. Harris Associates L P grew its position in shares of Masco by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Harris Associates L P now owns 9,769,194 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $654,341,000 after acquiring an additional 140,334 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in shares of Masco by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,924,621 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $194,985,000 after acquiring an additional 9,094 shares during the period. Finally, Impax Asset Management Group plc grew its position in shares of Masco by 10.0% during the 2nd quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 2,855,056 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $190,347,000 after acquiring an additional 259,205 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MAS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. 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 price objective 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. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Masco from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Masco from $79.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on shares of Masco from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note 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.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $77.58.

Insider Activity at Masco

In other news, VP Kenneth G. Cole sold 37,814 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 36,980 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,896,273.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Masco Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE MAS opened at $82.11 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $76.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $73.07. Masco Co. has a fifty-two week low of $47.66 and a fifty-two week high of $83.56. 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 company has a market cap of $18.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.13, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.24.

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

Masco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 2nd. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.41%. Masco’s dividend payout ratio is currently 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.