Grimes & Company Inc. Takes $219,000 Position in Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS)

Grimes & Company Inc. purchased a new position in Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS) in the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund purchased 2,605 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $219,000.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp raised its stake in shares of Masco by 14.3% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 542,096 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $42,245,000 after buying an additional 67,806 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in Masco in the 1st quarter worth $1,903,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Masco during the second quarter worth $82,363,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Masco by 2.8% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,300,591 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,074,591,000 after purchasing an additional 721,117 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. grew its position in shares of Masco by 119.1% in the first quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 290,123 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $22,885,000 after purchasing an additional 157,711 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on MAS shares. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Masco from $88.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Citigroup decreased their target price on Masco from $73.00 to $66.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. StockNews.com raised Masco from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Masco from $88.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Masco from $89.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Masco currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $81.75.

Masco Stock Performance

Masco stock opened at $81.26 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $81.33 and a 200-day simple moving average of $74.31. The stock has a market cap of $17.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.18, a current ratio of 1.76 and a quick ratio of 1.12. Masco Co. has a 1-year low of $49.24 and a 1-year high of $86.70.

Masco (NYSE:MAS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The construction company reported $1.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.02. Masco had a return on equity of 602.39% and a net margin of 11.59%. The company had revenue of $2.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.10 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.19 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Masco Co. will post 4.1 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Kenneth G. Cole sold 37,814 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.32, for a total transaction of $2,961,592.48. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 36,980 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,896,273.60. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

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.