Blue Trust Inc. Acquires 1,396 Shares of Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS)

Blue Trust Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS) by 52.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,033 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,396 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in Masco were worth $293,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in Masco by 956.3% in the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 989,640 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $83,070,000 after buying an additional 895,950 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in Masco by 21.0% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,997,839 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $218,063,000 after buying an additional 520,555 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in Masco by 49.2% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 883,859 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $74,192,000 after acquiring an additional 291,658 shares during the period. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec lifted its stake in shares of Masco by 4,028.2% in the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 200,795 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $16,855,000 after purchasing an additional 195,931 shares during the period. Finally, State Street Corp increased its holdings in Masco by 1.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,294,294 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $864,103,000 after buying an additional 194,297 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on MAS. Loop Capital upped their price objective on Masco from $76.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Masco from $78.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. StockNews.com cut Masco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Masco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $96.00 to $89.00 in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered shares of Masco from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $79.00 to $80.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $86.27.

Masco Stock Performance

MAS opened at $79.28 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $17.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.25. 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 firm has a fifty day moving average price of $77.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $78.51. Masco Co. has a 1 year low of $63.81 and a 1 year high of $86.70.

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.