Focus Partners Wealth Raises Position in Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS)

Focus Partners Wealth increased its stake in shares of Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS) by 4.6% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 10,149 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 445 shares during the period. Focus Partners Wealth’s holdings in Masco were worth $767,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Masco during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $129,306,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Masco in the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,157,000. Freestone Grove Partners LP bought a new position in shares of Masco in the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,678,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Masco by 14.7% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,821,629 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $204,766,000 after purchasing an additional 360,931 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV boosted its position in shares of Masco by 91.6% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 708,830 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $51,440,000 after acquiring an additional 338,925 shares during the last quarter. 93.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Keith J. Allman sold 21,723 shares of Masco stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 60,267 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,601,988.12. This trade represents a 26.49% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, 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 transaction of $225,317.42. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 33,027 shares in the company, valued at $2,370,678.06. This represents a 8.68% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Masco Stock Up 0.7%

MAS stock opened at $67.68 on Monday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $64.81 and a 200 day moving average of $72.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.28 billion, a PE ratio of 18.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.74. Masco Co. has a 52 week low of $56.55 and a 52 week high of $86.70.

Masco (NYSE:MAS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The construction company reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.92 by ($0.05). Masco had a return on equity of 838.32% and a net margin of 10.50%. The company had revenue of $1.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.84 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.93 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Masco Co. will post 4.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Masco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be given a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.83%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. Masco’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.88%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MAS has been the subject of a number of research reports. Barclays set a $71.00 target price on shares of Masco and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on shares of Masco from $72.00 to $70.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of Masco from $64.00 to $62.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 23rd. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $80.00 price target (down previously from $91.00) on shares of Masco in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Truist Financial dropped their target price on shares of Masco from $92.00 to $75.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $73.63.

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.