Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC Boosts Stake in Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS)

Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC lifted its position in shares of Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS) by 130.3% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 15,134 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 8,562 shares during the period. Sherbrooke Park Advisers LLC’s holdings in Masco were worth $1,098,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in Masco by 49.2% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 883,859 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $74,192,000 after buying an additional 291,658 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Masco by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 263,155 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $22,089,000 after buying an additional 7,089 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank lifted its stake in Masco by 5.2% in the 4th quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 46,779 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $3,395,000 after buying an additional 2,320 shares in the last quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Masco in the 4th quarter valued at about $504,000. Finally, Kathmere Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Masco by 13.0% in the 4th quarter. Kathmere Capital Management LLC now owns 3,990 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $290,000 after buying an additional 460 shares in the last quarter. 93.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Keith J. Allman sold 21,723 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.36, for a total transaction of $1,658,768.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 60,267 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,601,988.12. This represents a 26.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Renee Straber sold 3,139 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.78, for a total transaction of $225,317.42. Following the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MAS. Loop Capital set a $62.00 price target on shares of Masco and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Masco from $65.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on shares of Masco from $82.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Barclays set a $71.00 target price on shares of Masco and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of Masco in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued a “hold” rating and a $71.00 target price on the stock. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $73.63.

Masco Stock Performance

Shares of MAS stock opened at $67.27 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.74. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $64.88 and a 200 day moving average price of $73.00. The company has a market cap of $14.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.89, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.23. Masco Co. has a 12 month low of $56.55 and a 12 month high of $86.70.

Masco (NYSE:MAS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The construction company reported $0.87 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.92 by ($0.05). Masco had a net margin of 10.50% and a return on equity of 838.32%. The company had revenue of $1.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.84 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.93 earnings per share. Masco’s revenue was down 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Masco Co. will post 4.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Masco Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be issued a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.84%. Masco’s payout ratio is 33.88%.

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.