Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Sells 1,089 Shares of Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lowered its holdings in Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS) by 4.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 23,943 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 1,089 shares during the quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Masco were worth $1,596,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MAS. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Masco in the 4th quarter valued at $122,144,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Masco in the 2nd quarter valued at $82,363,000. Confluence Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Masco in the 1st quarter valued at $78,181,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its position in Masco by 66.5% in the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,823,934 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $121,581,000 after purchasing an additional 728,690 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Masco by 2.8% in the 1st 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 during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Kenneth G. Cole sold 37,814 shares of the company’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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 36,980 shares in the company, valued at $2,896,273.60. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MAS has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Masco from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Masco from $73.00 to $66.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Masco from $81.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Masco from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Masco from $79.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Masco presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $77.58.

Masco Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of Masco stock opened at $80.21 on Friday. Masco Co. has a 52-week low of $47.66 and a 52-week high of $81.91. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $75.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $72.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.18, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.76.

Masco (NYSE:MAS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The construction company reported $1.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.18 by $0.02. Masco had a return on equity of 602.39% and a net margin of 11.59%. The business had revenue of $2.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.10 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.19 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Masco Co. will post 4.11 EPS for the current year.

Masco Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 2nd were given a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 2nd. Masco’s dividend payout ratio 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.