Global Retirement Partners LLC Has $45,000 Stake in Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS)

Global Retirement Partners LLC cut its stake in shares of Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS) by 23.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 627 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 189 shares during the quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC’s holdings in Masco were worth $45,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Masco by 13,069.3% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 29,631 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,487,000 after acquiring an additional 29,406 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Masco by 40.0% during the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 14,860 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,242,000 after purchasing an additional 4,249 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. lifted its position in shares of Masco by 8.9% in the 3rd quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 3,884 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $326,000 after purchasing an additional 316 shares during the period. Stephens Inc. AR boosted its stake in shares of Masco by 12.1% in the 3rd quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 4,593 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $386,000 after purchasing an additional 496 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Masco by 6.7% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,031 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $170,000 after buying an additional 128 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.91% of the company’s stock.

Masco Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MAS opened at $75.10 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $76.15 and its 200-day moving average is $78.84. Masco Co. has a twelve month low of $63.81 and a twelve month high of $86.70. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.97, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.25.

Masco (NYSE:MAS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The construction company reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.01. Masco had a net margin of 10.50% and a return on equity of 838.32%. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.83 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Masco Co. will post 4.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Masco Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.65%. This is an increase from Masco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Masco’s payout ratio is 32.98%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Masco news, CEO Keith J. Allman sold 21,723 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.36, for a total transaction of $1,658,768.28. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 60,267 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,601,988.12. This trade represents a 26.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MAS has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Oppenheimer upgraded shares of Masco from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $89.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Masco from $94.00 to $91.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Masco from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Masco from $85.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Masco from $80.00 to $83.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $86.32.

Masco Company 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.