Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS) Shares Bought by Apollon Wealth Management LLC

Apollon Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS) by 42.7% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 7,286 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 2,180 shares during the period. Apollon Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Masco were worth $529,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MAS. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Masco by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,294,294 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $864,103,000 after buying an additional 194,297 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in shares of Masco by 21.0% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,997,839 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $218,063,000 after buying an additional 520,555 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in shares of Masco by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,950,880 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $241,825,000 after buying an additional 26,259 shares during the last quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Masco by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 995,950 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $83,600,000 after buying an additional 14,870 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in shares of Masco by 956.3% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 989,640 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $83,070,000 after buying an additional 895,950 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.91% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Masco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Masco from $94.00 to $91.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Masco from $82.00 to $77.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Zelman & Associates upgraded shares of Masco to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Masco from $78.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $86.32.

Masco Stock Performance

Shares of MAS stock opened at $77.68 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 1.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.74. Masco Co. has a 52 week low of $63.81 and a 52 week high of $86.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.76 billion, a PE ratio of 20.66, a P/E/G ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.25. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $76.47 and a two-hundred day moving average of $78.70.

Masco (NYSE:MAS) last issued 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 net margin of 10.54% and a return on equity of 615.54%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.83 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Masco Co. will post 4.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Masco Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a dividend of $0.31 per share. 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 1.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. Masco’s payout ratio 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.