Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS) Shares Bought by National Pension Service

National Pension Service raised its stake in Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS) by 9.7% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 445,459 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 39,304 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service’s holdings in Masco were worth $37,392,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MAS. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Masco in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $82,363,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in Masco by 956.3% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 989,640 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $83,070,000 after purchasing an additional 895,950 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its position in shares of Masco by 66.5% in the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,823,934 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $121,581,000 after buying an additional 728,690 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Masco by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,300,591 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,074,591,000 after buying an additional 721,117 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Masco by 55.8% in the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,538,952 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $121,391,000 after buying an additional 551,203 shares in the last quarter. 93.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Masco Stock Down 1.9 %

MAS opened at $80.21 on Thursday. Masco Co. has a 12 month low of $54.67 and a 12 month high of $86.70. The business has a 50-day moving average of $81.66 and a two-hundred day moving average of $74.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.74, a current ratio of 1.83 and a quick ratio of 1.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.24.

Masco (NYSE:MAS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The construction company reported $1.08 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.08. The firm had revenue of $1.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2 billion. Masco had a net margin of 10.54% and a return on equity of 615.54%. Masco’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.00 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Masco Co. will post 4.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Masco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 25th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th will be issued a $0.29 dividend. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. Masco’s payout ratio is currently 30.85%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MAS has been the subject of several recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Masco from $78.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Masco from $90.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Loop Capital upped their target price on Masco from $76.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. StockNews.com downgraded Masco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on Masco from $92.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $85.96.

Insider Buying and Selling at Masco

In other news, VP Kenneth G. Cole sold 37,814 shares of Masco stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.32, for a total value of $2,961,592.48. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 36,980 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,896,273.60. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.