Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Lowers Stake in Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS)

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp lessened its holdings in Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS) by 2.1% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 531,716 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 11,382 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp’s holdings in Masco were worth $38,587,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. ORG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Masco in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Masco in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Masco in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. acquired a new position in Masco during the fourth quarter worth $42,000. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its holdings in Masco by 26.7% during the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 703 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Masco

In other news, CEO Keith J. Allman sold 21,723 shares of Masco stock in a transaction on 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 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. The trade was a 26.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 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 value of $225,317.42. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 33,027 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,370,678.06. The trade was a 8.68 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on MAS. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Masco from $94.00 to $91.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Zelman & Associates raised Masco to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Masco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $96.00 to $89.00 in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Masco from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Masco from $84.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Nine investment 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $86.32.

Masco Stock Performance

Masco stock opened at $70.44 on Thursday. Masco Co. has a 1-year low of $63.81 and a 1-year high of $86.70. The stock has a market cap of $14.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.24. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $75.57 and a 200-day simple moving average of $78.03. 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 (NYSE:MAS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The construction company reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 last year, the firm posted $0.83 EPS. On average, analysts expect 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st were paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.76%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. This is a positive change 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.