Patten & Patten Inc. TN Trims Holdings in Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS)

Patten & Patten Inc. TN reduced its stake in shares of Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS) by 23.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,449 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 3,265 shares during the quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN’s holdings in Masco were worth $700,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ritholtz Wealth Management grew its stake in Masco by 264.5% in the 4th quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 18,219 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,220,000 after acquiring an additional 13,221 shares in the last quarter. Trexquant Investment LP boosted its holdings in shares of Masco by 22.9% in the third quarter. Trexquant Investment LP now owns 141,596 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $7,568,000 after purchasing an additional 26,360 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Kokusai Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Masco by 27.5% in the third quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Kokusai Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 257,151 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $13,745,000 after purchasing an additional 55,407 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in Masco by 15.4% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 5,320,936 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $284,404,000 after purchasing an additional 711,988 shares during the period. Finally, LPL Financial LLC raised its position in Masco by 26.6% during the 3rd quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 196,339 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $10,494,000 after purchasing an additional 41,270 shares in the last quarter. 93.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Masco

In other Masco news, VP Kenneth G. Cole sold 36,210 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.65, for a total value of $2,703,076.50. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 58,885 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,395,765.25. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, VP Kenneth G. Cole sold 36,210 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.65, for a total transaction of $2,703,076.50. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 58,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,395,765.25. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Jai Shah sold 42,552 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.36, for a total value of $3,249,270.72. Following the sale, the insider now owns 15,830 shares in the company, valued at $1,208,778.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 83,762 shares of company stock worth $6,337,597. 1.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Masco from $58.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 6th. Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Masco in a report on Friday, February 2nd. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $70.00 price target on the stock. Barclays upped their target price on Masco from $63.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 13th. Oppenheimer started coverage on Masco in a report on Friday, January 19th. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price objective on shares of Masco from $65.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $68.92.

Masco Stock Performance

MAS opened at $77.18 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $73.93 and a two-hundred day moving average of $64.51. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.96 billion, a PE ratio of 19.25, a P/E/G ratio of 2.18 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 30.05. Masco Co. has a 12-month low of $46.69 and a 12-month high of $78.94.

Masco (NYSE:MAS) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The construction company reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $1.88 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.79 billion. Masco had a net margin of 11.40% and a return on equity of 3,111.50%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.65 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Masco Co. will post 4.12 EPS for the current year.

Masco Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.50%. This is a positive change from Masco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 21st. Masco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.93%.

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.