Natixis Advisors LLC Cuts Stake in Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS)

Natixis Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS) by 0.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 235,060 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 1,141 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in Masco were worth $17,058,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MAS. ORG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Masco in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Masco in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Masco in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its stake in shares of Masco by 26.7% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 703 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Masco by 74.3% in the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 774 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $56,000 after acquiring an additional 330 shares during the last quarter. 93.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MAS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group cut their target price on Masco from $94.00 to $91.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Barclays increased their price objective on Masco from $84.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Oppenheimer raised Masco from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $89.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Masco from $85.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut Masco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the company from $96.00 to $89.00 in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Nine research 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 MarketBeat, Masco has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $86.32.

Insider Transactions at Masco

In other news, CEO Keith J. Allman sold 21,723 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 60,267 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,601,988.12. This trade represents a 26.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Renee Straber sold 3,139 shares of Masco stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at $2,370,678.06. This trade represents a 8.68 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Masco Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:MAS opened at $70.62 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.78, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.24. 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 stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $75.98 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $78.35. Masco Co. has a 52-week low of $63.81 and a 52-week high of $86.70.

Masco (NYSE:MAS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The construction company reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 EPS. Analysts expect that Masco Co. will post 4.34 EPS 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 $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.76%. This is an increase from Masco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Masco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.98%.

Masco Company 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.