M&T Bank Corp Purchases 205 Shares of Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS)

M&T Bank Corp lifted its stake in Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS) by 1.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 12,065 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 205 shares during the quarter. M&T Bank Corp’s holdings in Masco were worth $876,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Masco in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Masco during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Masco during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Masco during the third quarter worth approximately $43,000. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Masco by 59.4% during the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 596 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $50,000 after buying an additional 222 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.91% of the company’s stock.

Masco Trading Down 3.4 %

Shares of MAS stock opened at $71.37 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.74. The stock has a market cap of $15.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.24. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $76.15 and a 200 day simple moving average of $78.67. Masco Co. has a 1 year low of $63.81 and a 1 year high of $86.70.

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

Masco Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st were paid a $0.31 dividend. This is a boost from Masco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. Masco’s payout ratio is 32.98%.

Insider Activity at Masco

In other Masco news, CEO Keith J. Allman sold 21,723 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at $4,601,988.12. This represents a 26.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on MAS. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Masco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $96.00 to $89.00 in a research report on Monday, December 16th. StockNews.com downgraded Masco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $74.00 price target on shares of Masco in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Masco from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Zelman & Associates raised Masco to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $86.32.

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.