American Century Companies Inc. Sells 16,002 Shares of Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS)

American Century Companies Inc. lowered its position in shares of Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS) by 2.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 658,405 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 16,002 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned 0.30% of Masco worth $43,896,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Masco by 2.8% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,300,591 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,074,591,000 after acquiring an additional 721,117 shares during the period. Harris Associates L P lifted its position in shares of Masco by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Harris Associates L P now owns 9,769,194 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $654,341,000 after buying an additional 140,334 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in shares of Masco by 0.3% during the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,924,621 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $194,985,000 after acquiring an additional 9,094 shares during the period. Impax Asset Management Group plc increased its holdings in Masco by 10.0% in the 2nd quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 2,855,056 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $190,347,000 after acquiring an additional 259,205 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Earnest Partners LLC raised its stake in Masco by 16.6% in the 1st quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 2,245,644 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $177,136,000 after acquiring an additional 319,029 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.91% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Kenneth G. Cole sold 37,814 shares of the 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 36,980 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,896,273.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Masco Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE MAS opened at $81.04 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $75.59 and a 200-day moving average of $72.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.86, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.76, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.18. Masco Co. has a 12 month low of $47.66 and a 12 month high of $81.91.

Masco (NYSE:MAS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The construction company reported $1.20 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.18 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $2.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.10 billion. Masco had a net margin of 11.59% and a return on equity of 602.39%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.19 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Masco Co. will post 4.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Masco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 2nd were given a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 2nd. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.43%. Masco’s payout ratio is 28.43%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MAS has been the subject of a number of research reports. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Masco from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Masco from $81.00 to $84.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Masco from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Citigroup cut their price target on Masco from $73.00 to $66.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Masco from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $77.58.

Masco 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.