New York State Teachers Retirement System Lowers Stake in Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS)

New York State Teachers Retirement System cut its stake in Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS) by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 215,749 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 709 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System owned about 0.10% of Masco worth $18,110,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Masco by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,300,591 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,074,591,000 after purchasing an additional 721,117 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in Masco by 1.9% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 9,830,723 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $655,414,000 after buying an additional 181,515 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in Masco by 0.3% during the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,924,621 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $194,985,000 after acquiring an additional 9,094 shares during the last quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc raised its stake in shares of Masco by 10.0% during the second quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 2,855,056 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $190,347,000 after acquiring an additional 259,205 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Earnest Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Masco by 16.6% in the 1st quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 2,245,644 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $177,136,000 after acquiring an additional 319,029 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.91% of the company’s stock.

Masco Stock Performance

Masco stock opened at $80.18 on Friday. Masco Co. has a fifty-two week low of $53.44 and a fifty-two week high of $86.70. The stock has a market cap of $17.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.32, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 1.24. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $81.60 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $74.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.74, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.83.

Masco (NYSE:MAS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The construction company reported $1.08 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.08. The company had revenue of $1.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2 billion. Masco had a return on equity of 615.54% and a net margin of 10.54%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.00 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Masco Co. will post 4.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Masco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 25th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th will be given a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.45%. Masco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 30.85%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Masco from $92.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Royal Bank of Canada cut Masco from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $79.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Masco from $89.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on Masco from $95.00 to $94.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Masco from $78.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $84.85.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Masco news, VP Kenneth G. Cole sold 37,814 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.32, for a total transaction of $2,961,592.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 36,980 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,896,273.60. This trade represents a 0.00 % 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. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.