Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS) Shares Sold by Goodman Advisory Group LLC

Goodman Advisory Group LLC trimmed its position in Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS) by 77.6% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,167 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 17,902 shares during the quarter. Goodman Advisory Group LLC’s holdings in Masco were worth $344,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Scientech Research LLC acquired a new position in Masco during the second quarter valued at approximately $676,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its stake in shares of Masco by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 133,547 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $8,904,000 after acquiring an additional 359 shares during the period. MBB Public Markets I LLC acquired a new position in shares of Masco during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,113,000. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Masco by 56.9% during the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 752,374 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $50,161,000 after purchasing an additional 272,786 shares during the period. Finally, Ariel Investments LLC increased its holdings in Masco by 4.5% in the 2nd quarter. Ariel Investments LLC now owns 1,093,202 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $72,884,000 after purchasing an additional 46,644 shares in the last quarter. 93.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on MAS. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Masco from $73.00 to $66.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Masco from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Masco from $79.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Masco from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Masco from $78.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $77.58.

Insider Activity at Masco

In other news, VP Kenneth G. Cole sold 37,814 shares of Masco stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 36,980 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,896,273.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Masco Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MAS opened at $83.59 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $77.73 and a 200-day simple moving average of $73.33. Masco Co. has a twelve month low of $47.66 and a twelve month high of $84.37. The company has a market capitalization of $18.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.59 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.76, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.18.

Masco (NYSE:MAS) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The construction company reported $1.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.18 by $0.02. Masco had a net margin of 11.59% and a return on equity of 602.39%. The company had revenue of $2.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.10 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.19 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Masco Co. will post 4.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Masco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 19th. Investors of record on Friday, August 2nd were issued a $0.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 2nd. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.39%. Masco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.43%.

Masco 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.