Generali Asset Management SPA SGR Sells 14,946 Shares of Masco Corporation $MAS

Generali Asset Management SPA SGR lessened its holdings in Masco Corporation (NYSE:MAS) by 90.5% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 1,571 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 14,946 shares during the quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR’s holdings in Masco were worth $100,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Masco by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,175,075 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $716,224,000 after purchasing an additional 367,937 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners raised its stake in shares of Masco by 1.0% in the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 5,850,170 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $411,832,000 after purchasing an additional 58,609 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Masco by 32.3% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 5,085,602 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $357,976,000 after purchasing an additional 1,240,322 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in shares of Masco by 6.5% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 4,371,864 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $278,619,000 after buying an additional 267,012 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new position in shares of Masco during the third quarter valued at approximately $192,948,000. Institutional investors own 93.91% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Heath M. Eisman sold 747 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.92, for a total transaction of $53,724.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 12,510 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $899,719.20. This represents a 5.63% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the company. UBS Group increased their price target on Masco from $96.00 to $97.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $88.00 target price on shares of Masco in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Masco from $70.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Masco from $65.00 to $78.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 22nd. Finally, Zelman & Associates downgraded shares of Masco to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $80.07.

Masco Stock Down 0.0%

MAS stock opened at $71.73 on Monday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $65.16 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $66.20. The company has a current ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 109.07. Masco Corporation has a 1-year low of $58.16 and a 1-year high of $79.19. The stock has a market cap of $14.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.80, a P/E/G ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 1.34.

Masco (NYSE:MAS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The construction company reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $1.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.07 billion. Masco had a return on equity of 815.20% and a net margin of 10.90%.The business’s revenue was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.87 EPS. Masco has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.100-4.300 EPS. Analysts expect that Masco Corporation will post 4.25 EPS for the current year.

Masco declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, February 10th that permits the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the construction company to purchase up to 13.5% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Masco Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 9th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 20th were given a $0.32 dividend. This is a positive change from Masco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.31. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 20th. Masco’s payout ratio is presently 31.76%.

Masco Company Profile

Masco Corporation is a global leader in the design, manufacture and distribution of branded home improvement and building products. Founded in 1929 and headquartered in Livonia, Michigan, the company has evolved from a small door?bell manufacturer into a diversified enterprise serving both residential and commercial markets. Over its history, Masco has grown through a combination of organic innovation and strategic acquisitions, building a portfolio of well-recognized brands.

The company’s product offerings are organized into two primary segments.