Blair William & Co. IL Purchases 1,174 Shares of Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS)

Blair William & Co. IL increased its position in Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS) by 12.1% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 10,906 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 1,174 shares during the quarter. Blair William & Co. IL’s holdings in Masco were worth $791,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. ORG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Masco during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Masco during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in Masco during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Masco in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its holdings in shares of Masco by 26.7% in the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 703 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Masco

In other Masco news, CEO Keith J. Allman sold 21,723 shares of the company’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 value of $1,658,768.28. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Renee Straber sold 3,139 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.78, for a total transaction of $225,317.42. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 33,027 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,370,678.06. This trade represents a 8.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on MAS shares. Citigroup lowered their price target on Masco from $82.00 to $77.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Masco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $96.00 to $89.00 in a research report on Monday, December 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Masco from $85.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $74.00 price objective on shares of Masco in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their target price on Masco from $94.00 to $91.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Masco presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $85.30.

Masco Stock Performance

Masco stock opened at $64.01 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $13.55 billion, a PE ratio of 17.02, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.24. 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 1 year low of $63.12 and a 1 year high of $86.70. The company’s 50-day moving average is $74.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $77.64.

Masco (NYSE:MAS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The construction company reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 last year, the company earned $0.83 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate 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. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st were paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. This is a boost from Masco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.94%. Masco’s payout ratio is 32.98%.

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.