Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS) Shares Sold by Ossiam

Ossiam decreased its holdings in shares of Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS) by 10.0% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 10,094 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 1,124 shares during the quarter. Ossiam’s holdings in Masco were worth $733,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MAS. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Masco by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,129,771 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $371,265,000 after purchasing an additional 58,739 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in shares of Masco by 10.2% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,250,400 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $235,881,000 after acquiring an additional 299,520 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in Masco by 21.0% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,997,839 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $218,063,000 after purchasing an additional 520,555 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in Masco by 14.7% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,821,629 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $204,766,000 after purchasing an additional 360,931 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Schroder Investment Management Group lifted its position in shares of Masco by 9.7% during the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 2,103,820 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $152,569,000 after buying an additional 185,286 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.91% of the company’s stock.

Masco Stock Performance

Shares of MAS stock opened at $60.06 on Tuesday. Masco Co. has a one year low of $57.27 and a one year high of $86.70. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $69.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $75.52. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.74, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.75.

Masco (NYSE:MAS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The construction company reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 previous year, the company earned $0.83 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Masco Co. will post 4.34 EPS for the current year.

Masco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st were issued a $0.31 dividend. This is a positive change from Masco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.06%. Masco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.98%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MAS. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of Masco in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued a “hold” rating and a $71.00 price target for the company. Barclays cut their price target on Masco from $87.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Masco from $94.00 to $91.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Zelman & Associates upgraded shares of Masco to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Masco from $85.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $83.37.

Insider Buying and Selling at Masco

In other news, VP Renee Straber sold 3,139 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.78, for a total transaction of $225,317.42. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 33,027 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,370,678.06. The trade was a 8.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Keith J. Allman sold 21,723 shares of the firm’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 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.