Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS) Shares Bought by Machina Capital S.A.S.

Machina Capital S.A.S. raised its stake in Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS) by 114.2% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 14,807 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,895 shares during the quarter. Machina Capital S.A.S.’s holdings in Masco were worth $1,075,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in Masco by 20.6% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 331,883 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $28,147,000 after buying an additional 56,626 shares during the period. Seizert Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Masco by 21.7% in the 3rd quarter. Seizert Capital Partners LLC now owns 540,437 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $45,364,000 after acquiring an additional 96,415 shares during the period. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Masco by 6.6% in the 4th quarter. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 219,120 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $17,135,000 after acquiring an additional 13,568 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Masco by 69.1% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,544 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $112,000 after acquiring an additional 631 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empower Advisory Group LLC boosted its position in Masco by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,016,079 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $73,737,000 after purchasing an additional 20,129 shares during the period. 93.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Masco

In other Masco news, CEO Keith J. Allman sold 21,723 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Masco Price Performance

Shares of MAS stock opened at $75.25 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $15.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.01, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.24. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $76.11 and a two-hundred day moving average of $78.75. 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 $63.81 and a 1-year high of $86.70.

Masco (NYSE:MAS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The construction company reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 business earned $0.83 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate 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 will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a dividend of $0.31 per share. This is a positive change from Masco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. Masco’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.98%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MAS has been the topic of several research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $74.00 price objective on shares of Masco in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Masco from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. UBS Group decreased their price target on Masco from $94.00 to $91.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a 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 report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Masco from $85.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $86.32.

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.