Principal Securities Inc. Acquires 1,931 Shares of Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS)

Principal Securities Inc. increased its position in shares of Masco Co. (NYSE:MASFree Report) by 20.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,337 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,931 shares during the period. Principal Securities Inc.’s holdings in Masco were worth $823,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Masco by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,294,294 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $864,103,000 after purchasing an additional 194,297 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in Masco by 10.2% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,250,400 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $235,881,000 after buying an additional 299,520 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in Masco by 21.0% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,997,839 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $218,063,000 after buying an additional 520,555 shares during the period. Empower Advisory Group LLC boosted its position in Masco by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 995,950 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $83,600,000 after buying an additional 14,870 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in Masco by 956.3% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 989,640 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $83,070,000 after buying an additional 895,950 shares during the period. 93.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MAS has been the subject of several research reports. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Masco from $84.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Masco from $82.00 to $77.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Masco from $84.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Masco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price target for the company from $96.00 to $89.00 in a report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Loop Capital boosted their price objective on shares of Masco from $76.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $86.32.

Read Our Latest Stock Analysis on Masco

Masco Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MAS opened at $76.32 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $76.21 and its 200 day moving average price is $78.71. Masco Co. has a 1 year low of $63.81 and a 1 year high of $86.70. The company has a market capitalization of $16.18 billion, a PE ratio of 20.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.96 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.74, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.75.

Masco (NYSE:MASGet Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The construction company reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.83 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Masco Co. will post 4.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Masco Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.62%. This is an increase from Masco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. Masco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.98%.

About Masco

(Free Report)

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.

Read More

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding MAS? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Masco Co. (NYSE:MASFree Report).

Institutional Ownership by Quarter for Masco (NYSE:MAS)

Receive News & Ratings for Masco Daily - Enter your email address below to receive a concise daily summary of the latest news and analysts' ratings for Masco and related companies with MarketBeat.com's FREE daily email newsletter.