Boston Partners Cuts Stake in Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS)

Boston Partners lowered its stake in shares of Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS) by 13.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,773,134 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 1,211,448 shares during the quarter. Boston Partners owned about 3.60% of Masco worth $564,990,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MAS. Metis Global Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Masco by 1.9% during the third quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 7,031 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $590,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP increased its position in shares of Masco by 17.3% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 901 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $71,000 after buying an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Equitable Trust Co. boosted its stake in shares of Masco by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 8,089 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $587,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC boosted its stake in shares of Masco by 1.8% in the third quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 7,917 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $665,000 after acquiring an additional 137 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tealwood Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Masco by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Tealwood Asset Management Inc. now owns 17,921 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,301,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Renee Straber sold 3,139 shares of Masco stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.78, for a total value of $225,317.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 33,027 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,370,678.06. The trade was a 8.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Keith J. Allman sold 21,723 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.36, for a total transaction of $1,658,768.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 60,267 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,601,988.12. This represents a 26.49 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on MAS shares. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Masco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $96.00 to $89.00 in a research note on Monday, December 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Masco from $85.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $74.00 price target on shares of Masco in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Oppenheimer upgraded Masco from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $89.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Masco from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $86.32.

Masco Price Performance

NYSE MAS opened at $71.07 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.06 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.24. Masco Co. has a 1 year low of $63.81 and a 1 year high of $86.70. The business’s fifty day moving average is $76.00 and its two-hundred day moving average is $78.42. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The construction company reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.83 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Masco Co. will post 4.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Masco Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st were given a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. This is an increase from Masco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.74%. Masco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.98%.

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.