Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. Reduces Holdings in Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS)

Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd. reduced its stake in Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS) by 5.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 7,000 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 437 shares during the quarter. Meiji Yasuda Asset Management Co Ltd.’s holdings in Masco were worth $508,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MAS. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Masco by 20.6% in 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 last quarter. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position 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 raised its stake in Masco by 69.1% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,544 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $112,000 after acquiring an additional 631 shares during the last quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC lifted 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 acquiring an additional 20,129 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. grew its stake in Masco by 20.5% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 11,337 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $823,000 after purchasing an additional 1,931 shares during the last quarter. 93.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Masco

In other news, CEO Keith J. Allman sold 21,723 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 60,267 shares in the company, valued at $4,601,988.12. This trade represents a 26.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Renee Straber sold 3,139 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.78, for a total value of $225,317.42. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 33,027 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,370,678.06. The trade was a 8.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on MAS. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Masco from $94.00 to $91.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Oppenheimer raised shares of Masco from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $89.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Masco from $84.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $74.00 target price on shares of Masco in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Masco from $82.00 to $77.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $86.32.

Masco Price Performance

NYSE:MAS opened at $70.54 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.74. Masco Co. has a 52 week low of $63.81 and a 52 week high of $86.70. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $75.43 and its 200-day moving average price is $77.98. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.95 billion, a PE ratio of 18.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.24.

Masco (NYSE:MAS) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 company earned $0.83 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Masco Co. will post 4.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Masco Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st were given a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. This is a boost from Masco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.76%. Masco’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.98%.

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.