5,052 Shares in Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS) Bought by Advisor OS LLC

Advisor OS LLC bought a new position in shares of Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 5,052 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $367,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MAS. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Masco by 13,069.3% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 29,631 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,487,000 after buying an additional 29,406 shares during the last quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Masco by 40.0% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 14,860 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,242,000 after buying an additional 4,249 shares during the last quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in Masco during the third quarter worth $218,000. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. raised its stake in Masco by 8.9% during the third quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 3,884 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $326,000 after buying an additional 316 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. raised its stake in Masco by 1.0% during the third quarter. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 410,225 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $34,434,000 after buying an additional 3,983 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.91% of the company’s stock.

Masco Stock Down 1.8 %

Masco stock opened at $74.70 on Friday. Masco Co. has a fifty-two week low of $63.81 and a fifty-two week high of $86.70. The stock has a market cap of $15.83 billion, a PE ratio of 19.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.25. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $76.13 and its 200 day simple moving average is $78.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.74, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.75.

Masco (NYSE:MAS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The construction company reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.01. Masco had a net margin of 10.50% and a return on equity of 838.32%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.83 EPS. Research analysts predict that Masco Co. will post 4.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Masco Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. This is a boost from Masco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.66%. Masco’s payout ratio is 32.98%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on MAS shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Masco from $85.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Masco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Masco from $82.00 to $77.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and issued a $74.00 price target on shares of Masco in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Masco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price target for the company from $96.00 to $89.00 in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $86.32.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Masco news, CEO Keith J. Allman sold 21,723 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.36, for a total value of $1,658,768.28. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 60,267 shares in the company, valued at $4,601,988.12. The trade was a 26.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.