Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd Makes New Investment in Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS)

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd purchased a new position in Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS) in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor purchased 9,148 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $664,000.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Masco by 1.9% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,294,294 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $864,103,000 after acquiring an additional 194,297 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in shares of Masco by 10.2% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,250,400 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $235,881,000 after acquiring an additional 299,520 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in shares of Masco by 21.0% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,997,839 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $218,063,000 after acquiring an additional 520,555 shares in the last quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Masco by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,016,079 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $73,737,000 after acquiring an additional 20,129 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Masco by 8.6% in the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 922,566 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $77,440,000 after acquiring an additional 73,405 shares in the last quarter. 93.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MAS has been the subject of a number of research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $74.00 price objective on shares of Masco in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Zelman & Associates upgraded Masco to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Masco from $85.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Masco from $94.00 to $91.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Masco from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Masco has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $86.32.

Masco Stock Performance

MAS opened at $75.10 on Friday. Masco Co. has a 12-month low of $63.81 and a 12-month high of $86.70. The stock has a market cap of $15.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.97, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.25. The business has a 50 day moving average of $76.15 and a 200-day moving average of $78.81. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.74.

Masco (NYSE:MAS) last released 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 return on equity of 838.32% and a net margin of 10.50%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.83 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Masco Co. will post 4.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Masco Increases Dividend

The firm 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 $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.65%. 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 presently 32.98%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Keith J. Allman sold 21,723 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.36, for a total transaction of $1,658,768.28. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 60,267 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,601,988.12. This trade represents a 26.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

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.