62,676 Shares in Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS) Bought by Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 62,676 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,554,000.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. ORG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Masco during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Masco in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Masco in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Masco during the fourth quarter worth about $42,000. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its stake in shares of Masco by 26.7% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 703 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.91% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Masco from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of Masco in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. They set a “hold” rating and a $71.00 price target for the company. UBS Group lowered their price target on Masco from $94.00 to $91.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered Masco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $96.00 to $89.00 in a report on Monday, December 16th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $84.50.

Masco Stock Down 3.8 %

Shares of NYSE MAS opened at $58.66 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $72.82 and its 200 day moving average price is $77.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.74, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.75. The firm has a market cap of $12.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.24. Masco Co. has a 1 year low of $54.05 and a 1 year high of $86.70.

Masco (NYSE:MAS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The construction company reported $0.89 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 prior year, the company earned $0.83 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Masco Co. will post 4.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Masco Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st were paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.11%. This is an increase from Masco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Masco’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Masco news, VP Renee Straber sold 3,139 shares of Masco stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.78, for a total value of $225,317.42. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 33,027 shares in the company, valued at $2,370,678.06. This trade represents a 8.68 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Keith J. Allman sold 21,723 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.36, for a total value of $1,658,768.28. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 60,267 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,601,988.12. The trade was a 26.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

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.