Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS) Shares Sold by Amalgamated Bank

Amalgamated Bank trimmed its holdings in Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS) by 7.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 41,386 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 3,336 shares during the quarter. Amalgamated Bank’s holdings in Masco were worth $3,003,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in MAS. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Masco by 13,069.3% in the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 29,631 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,487,000 after purchasing an additional 29,406 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Masco by 40.0% in 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 period. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. increased its position in shares of Masco by 8.9% in the third quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 3,884 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $326,000 after acquiring an additional 316 shares in the last quarter. Stephens Inc. AR increased its position in shares of Masco by 12.1% in the third quarter. Stephens Inc. AR now owns 4,593 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $386,000 after acquiring an additional 496 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Masco by 6.7% during the third quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,031 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $170,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Masco

In related news, CEO Keith J. Allman sold 21,723 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,601,988.12. This trade represents a 26.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on MAS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Masco from $80.00 to $83.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Barclays raised their target price on Masco from $84.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Masco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price target for the company from $96.00 to $89.00 in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Oppenheimer upgraded Masco from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $89.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Zelman & Associates upgraded Masco to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Nine 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Masco presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $86.32.

Masco Price Performance

Shares of MAS opened at $75.10 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.74, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.75. The firm has a market cap of $15.92 billion, a PE ratio of 19.97, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.25. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $76.15 and its 200 day moving average price is $78.84. Masco Co. has a twelve month low of $63.81 and a twelve month high of $86.70.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 prior year, the company posted $0.83 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Masco Co. will post 4.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Masco Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.65%. This is a boost from Masco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Masco’s payout ratio is currently 32.98%.

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.