Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. Purchases 10,100 Shares of Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS)

Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS) by 5,050.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,300 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 10,100 shares during the period. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc.’s holdings in Masco were worth $747,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MAS. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in Masco by 21.0% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,997,839 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $218,063,000 after acquiring an additional 520,555 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Masco in the 4th quarter worth $33,157,000. KBC Group NV increased its holdings in shares of Masco by 91.6% in the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 708,830 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $51,440,000 after buying an additional 338,925 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in shares of Masco by 10.2% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,250,400 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $235,881,000 after buying an additional 299,520 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its holdings in shares of Masco by 49.2% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 883,859 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $74,192,000 after buying an additional 291,658 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.91% of the company’s stock.

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 shares were sold at an average price of $76.36, for a total value of $1,658,768.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 60,267 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,601,988.12. This trade represents a 26.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Renee Straber sold 3,139 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 33,027 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Masco Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of MAS opened at $69.65 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.52, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.74. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $75.87 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $78.18. Masco Co. has a twelve month low of $63.81 and a twelve month high of $86.70.

Masco (NYSE:MAS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The construction company reported $0.89 earnings per share 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 quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.83 earnings per share. On average, research analysts anticipate that Masco Co. will post 4.34 EPS for the current year.

Masco Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st were given a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.78%. This is a boost from Masco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. Masco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.98%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MAS has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Masco from $85.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Zelman & Associates raised shares of Masco to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Masco from $84.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $74.00 price target on shares of Masco in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised shares of Masco from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $89.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Masco has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $86.32.

About Masco

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.