Golden State Wealth Management LLC Buys New Shares in Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS)

Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 373 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Masco by 85.4% in the fourth quarter. Lecap Asset Management Ltd. now owns 15,146 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,099,000 after buying an additional 6,975 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Masco by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 24,084 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,748,000 after purchasing an additional 525 shares during the last quarter. Ledyard National Bank raised its position in shares of Masco by 90.1% in the fourth quarter. Ledyard National Bank now owns 49,707 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $3,607,000 after purchasing an additional 23,560 shares during the period. Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of Masco by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Klein Pavlis & Peasley Financial Inc. now owns 41,823 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $3,035,000 after purchasing an additional 1,605 shares during the period. Finally, Vision Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Masco by 15.1% in the fourth quarter. Vision Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,820 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $277,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the period. 93.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Masco from $80.00 to $83.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Masco from $78.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company cut 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 report on Tuesday, February 4th. Oppenheimer upgraded shares of Masco from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $89.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Zelman & Associates upgraded shares of Masco to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Masco currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $85.58.

Masco Stock Down 2.5 %

NYSE MAS opened at $76.71 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.83, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.74. Masco Co. has a 1-year low of $63.81 and a 1-year high of $86.70. The company has a 50 day moving average of $76.53 and a 200-day moving average of $78.70. The company has a market cap of $16.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.40, a PEG ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.25.

Masco (NYSE:MAS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The construction company reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.01. Masco had a net margin of 10.54% and a return on equity of 615.54%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.83 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Masco Co. will post 4.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Masco Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st will be paid a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.62%. This is a boost from Masco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. Masco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.85%.

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.