Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund Purchases New Position in Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS)

Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund purchased a new position in Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 3,345 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $264,000.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of MAS. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Masco during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $122,144,000. Confluence Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Masco in the 1st quarter worth about $78,181,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Masco by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,300,591 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,074,591,000 after purchasing an additional 721,117 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in Masco by 967.9% during the 1st quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 415,406 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $32,767,000 after purchasing an additional 376,506 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in Masco by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 5,574,976 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $373,411,000 after purchasing an additional 254,040 shares in the last quarter. 93.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Masco from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Loop Capital reduced their target price on Masco from $79.00 to $76.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on Masco from $75.00 to $74.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Masco from $87.00 to $79.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 12th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price target on Masco from $73.00 to $66.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $74.00.

Masco Trading Up 7.5 %

Shares of NYSE:MAS opened at $75.88 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $68.64 and a 200 day moving average of $71.17. The company has a market cap of $16.71 billion, a PE ratio of 18.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.24. Masco Co. has a 12-month low of $47.66 and a 12-month high of $78.94. The company has a current ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 18.76.

Masco (NYSE:MAS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The construction company reported $1.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.16 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $2.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.10 billion. Masco had a net margin of 11.60% and a return on equity of 865.37%. The company’s revenue was down 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.19 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Masco Co. will post 4.08 EPS for the current year.

Masco Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 2nd will be paid a $0.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 2nd. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.53%. Masco’s payout ratio is presently 28.43%.

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.