J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG Sells 25,702 Shares of Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS)

J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG reduced its stake in shares of Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS) by 19.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 106,460 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 25,702 shares during the quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG’s holdings in Masco were worth $7,726,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in MAS. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Masco in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Masco during the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Masco in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Masco during the fourth quarter worth $42,000. Finally, GeoWealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Masco by 89.0% during the fourth quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 684 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 322 shares during the period. 93.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on MAS shares. UBS Group lowered their price objective on shares of Masco from $94.00 to $91.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Zelman & Associates upgraded Masco to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $74.00 price target on shares of Masco in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Oppenheimer raised shares of Masco from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $89.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Masco from $85.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Masco presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $83.37.

Masco Stock Down 2.5 %

Shares of MAS stock opened at $60.06 on Tuesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $69.60 and its 200 day moving average price is $75.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.74, a current ratio of 1.75 and a quick ratio of 1.15. Masco Co. has a 1-year low of $57.27 and a 1-year high of $86.70. The company has a market cap of $12.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.24.

Masco (NYSE:MAS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The construction company reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.01. Masco had a net margin of 10.50% and a return on equity of 838.32%. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.83 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Masco Co. will post 4.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Masco Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st were paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.06%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. This is an increase from Masco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Masco’s payout ratio is presently 32.98%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Renee Straber sold 3,139 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 33,027 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,370,678.06. This represents a 8.68 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Keith J. Allman sold 21,723 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 60,267 shares in the company, valued at $4,601,988.12. The trade was a 26.49 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate 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.