Proficio Capital Partners LLC Purchases New Holdings in Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS)

Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 103,507 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,512,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Metis Global Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Masco by 1.9% in the third quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 7,031 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $590,000 after buying an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP raised its holdings in Masco by 17.3% in the 4th quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 901 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $71,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. Equitable Trust Co. lifted its stake in Masco by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 8,089 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $587,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares in the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC grew its position in shares of Masco by 1.8% in the third quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 7,917 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $665,000 after purchasing an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tealwood Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Masco by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Tealwood Asset Management Inc. now owns 17,921 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,301,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Masco news, VP Renee Straber sold 3,139 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.78, for a total value of $225,317.42. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 33,027 shares in the company, valued at $2,370,678.06. This represents a 8.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Keith J. Allman sold 21,723 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 60,267 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,601,988.12. This represents a 26.49 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Masco Stock Performance

NYSE MAS opened at $70.35 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $14.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.24. Masco Co. has a 1-year low of $63.81 and a 1-year high of $86.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.74, a current ratio of 1.75 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $76.04 and a two-hundred day moving average of $78.47.

Masco (NYSE:MAS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The construction company reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.83 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Masco Co. will post 4.34 EPS for the current year.

Masco Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st were issued a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. This is a positive change from Masco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.76%. Masco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.98%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on MAS shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Masco from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Masco from $84.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Oppenheimer raised shares of Masco from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $89.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Masco from $85.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Masco from $94.00 to $91.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Masco currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $86.32.

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.