Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda Decreases Stock Holdings in Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS)

Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda lessened its stake in Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS) by 95.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 522 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 10,741 shares during the period. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda’s holdings in Masco were worth $35,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Jackson Creek Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Masco in the fourth quarter worth $627,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Masco during the 4th quarter valued at about $122,144,000. Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Masco during the 4th quarter valued at about $975,000. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Masco by 35.3% in the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 59,792 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $4,005,000 after purchasing an additional 15,591 shares during the period. Finally, Harris Associates L P boosted its holdings in shares of Masco by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Harris Associates L P now owns 9,769,194 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $654,341,000 after buying an additional 140,334 shares during the last quarter. 93.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on MAS. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Masco from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Masco from $75.00 to $74.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Masco from $79.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Loop Capital reduced their price target on Masco from $79.00 to $76.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Masco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $72.15.

Masco Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MAS opened at $68.24 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $15.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.27. Masco Co. has a 52-week low of $47.66 and a 52-week high of $78.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 18.76, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.74. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $69.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $70.70.

Masco (NYSE:MAS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The construction company reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.87 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $1.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.94 billion. Masco had a return on equity of 865.37% and a net margin of 11.60%. The business’s revenue was down 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.87 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Masco Co. will post 4.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Masco Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 10th. Investors of record on Friday, May 24th were issued a $0.29 dividend. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.70%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 23rd. Masco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.43%.

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.