Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS) Shares Acquired by Boston Trust Walden Corp

Boston Trust Walden Corp lifted its stake in shares of Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS) by 0.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 370,842 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 2,601 shares during the quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp owned approximately 0.17% of Masco worth $24,839,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MAS. United Bank lifted its stake in Masco by 23.7% during the first quarter. United Bank now owns 12,644 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $645,000 after purchasing an additional 2,425 shares during the last quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in Masco by 21.0% in the first quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 65,264 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $3,328,000 after buying an additional 11,337 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS lifted its stake in Masco by 4.8% in the first quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 32,103 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,637,000 after buying an additional 1,466 shares during the last quarter. LSV Asset Management bought a new stake in Masco in the first quarter valued at $495,000. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH lifted its stake in Masco by 200.0% in the first quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 457,744 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $23,345,000 after buying an additional 305,138 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.91% of the company’s stock.

Masco Trading Up 0.4 %

Masco stock traded up $0.34 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $76.92. The stock had a trading volume of 466,701 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,057,025. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $74.37 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $64.68. Masco Co. has a twelve month low of $46.69 and a twelve month high of $78.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 30.05, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 1.08. The firm has a market cap of $16.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.20, a PEG ratio of 2.19 and a beta of 1.25.

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

Masco Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 22nd were given a $0.29 dividend. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.51%. 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 currently 28.93%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Masco news, VP Richard Allan Marshall sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.05, for a total value of $385,250.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 10,465 shares in the company, valued at $806,328.25. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, VP Richard Allan Marshall sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.05, for a total transaction of $385,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 10,465 shares in the company, valued at $806,328.25. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Kenneth G. Cole sold 36,210 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 58,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,395,765.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 83,762 shares of company stock worth $6,337,597 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on MAS. StockNews.com cut Masco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Masco from $73.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Masco from $63.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 13th. Oppenheimer began coverage on shares of Masco in a research report on Friday, January 19th. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Masco from $58.00 to $69.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, December 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $69.62.

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.