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

Advocate Group LLC reduced its stake in shares of Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS) by 21.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 10,501 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 2,822 shares during the quarter. Advocate Group LLC’s holdings in Masco were worth $762,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Masco by 12.1% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,137,450 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $75,834,000 after acquiring an additional 122,705 shares in the last quarter. Sei Investments Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Masco by 5.4% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 224,858 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $14,991,000 after acquiring an additional 11,446 shares in the last quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Masco by 17.0% in the second quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 32,746 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,183,000 after acquiring an additional 4,765 shares in the last quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its holdings in shares of Masco by 72.7% in the second quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 8,515 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $568,000 after acquiring an additional 3,584 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can boosted its holdings in shares of Masco by 86.5% in the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 634,740 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $42,318,000 after acquiring an additional 294,409 shares in the last quarter. 93.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Masco Stock Performance

Shares of MAS stock opened at $79.26 on Friday. Masco Co. has a one year low of $63.81 and a one year high of $86.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.74, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a current ratio of 1.83. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $76.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $78.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.25.

Masco (NYSE:MAS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The construction company reported $1.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.08. Masco had a net margin of 10.54% and a return on equity of 615.54%. The company had revenue of $1.98 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.00 earnings per share. Masco’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Masco Co. will post 4.09 EPS for the current year.

Masco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were paid a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.46%. Masco’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.85%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Masco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of Masco from $95.00 to $94.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Royal Bank of Canada downgraded shares of Masco from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $79.00 to $80.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Loop Capital boosted their price objective on shares of Masco from $76.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Oppenheimer upgraded shares of Masco from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $89.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $86.27.

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.