Corient Private Wealth LLC Trims Stake in Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS)

Corient Private Wealth LLC lowered its holdings in Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS) by 20.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 24,387 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 6,344 shares during the period. Corient Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Masco were worth $1,770,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of Masco by 20.6% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 331,883 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $28,147,000 after purchasing an additional 56,626 shares during the last quarter. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Masco by 6.6% during the 4th quarter. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 219,120 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $17,135,000 after purchasing an additional 13,568 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in Masco by 69.1% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,544 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $112,000 after purchasing an additional 631 shares during the last quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC boosted its position in Masco by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,016,079 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $73,737,000 after buying an additional 20,129 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. grew its stake in shares of Masco by 20.5% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 11,337 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $823,000 after buying an additional 1,931 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Masco from $94.00 to $91.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $74.00 price target on shares of Masco in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Masco from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Zelman & Associates raised Masco to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Masco from $85.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Masco currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $86.32.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Renee Straber sold 3,139 shares of Masco stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 33,027 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,370,678.06. The trade was a 8.68 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Keith J. Allman sold 21,723 shares of the 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 sale, the chief executive officer now 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. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Masco Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MAS opened at $70.72 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.74. Masco Co. has a 12 month low of $63.81 and a 12 month high of $86.70. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $75.82 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $78.14. The stock has a market cap of $14.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.81, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.24.

Masco (NYSE:MAS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The construction company reported $0.89 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 firm earned $0.83 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Masco Co. will post 4.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Masco Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders 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 dividend yield of 1.75%. Masco’s payout ratio is currently 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.