Versor Investments LP Invests $546,000 in Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS)

Versor Investments LP purchased a new stake in Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 6,500 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $546,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in MAS. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Masco by 2.8% in 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. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in Masco by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 9,830,723 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $655,414,000 after buying an additional 181,515 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in Masco by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,950,880 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $241,825,000 after acquiring an additional 26,259 shares in the last quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc boosted its holdings in Masco by 10.0% during 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 grew its stake in shares of Masco by 16.6% in the 1st quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 2,245,644 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $177,136,000 after acquiring an additional 319,029 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.91% of the company’s stock.

Masco Price Performance

NYSE MAS opened at $79.25 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 1.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.74. The company has a market cap of $17.10 billion, a PE ratio of 21.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.24. Masco Co. has a 52 week low of $57.18 and a 52 week high of $86.70. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $81.80 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $75.05.

Masco (NYSE:MAS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The construction company reported $1.08 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08. Masco had a net margin of 10.54% and a return on equity of 615.54%. The company had revenue of $1.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.00 EPS. Masco’s revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Masco Co. will post 4.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Masco Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 25th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.46%. Masco’s payout ratio is 30.85%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Masco from $89.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Masco from $84.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered Masco from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $79.00 to $80.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Barclays lifted their price target on Masco from $92.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Masco from $78.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Masco has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $85.96.

Insider Buying and Selling

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. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by 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.