State of Michigan Retirement System Decreases Stock Position in Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS)

State of Michigan Retirement System reduced its position in Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS) by 1.5% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 58,517 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 900 shares during the period. State of Michigan Retirement System’s holdings in Masco were worth $4,247,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Farther Finance Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Masco by 6.7% during the 3rd quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 2,031 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $170,000 after buying an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Masco by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 44,940 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $3,756,000 after buying an additional 132 shares in the last quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC raised its position in Masco by 1.9% during the third quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 7,031 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $590,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the period. Allworth Financial LP raised its position in Masco by 17.3% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 901 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $71,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the period. Finally, Equitable Trust Co. raised its position in Masco by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 8,089 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $587,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the period. 93.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 60,267 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,601,988.12. This trade represents a 26.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MAS has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Masco from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Masco from $85.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. 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 note on Friday, January 10th. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Masco from $84.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered Masco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $96.00 to $89.00 in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $86.32.

Masco Trading Up 1.5 %

MAS opened at $75.25 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $15.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.01, 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. Masco Co. has a 52 week low of $63.81 and a 52 week high of $86.70. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $76.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $78.75.

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 quarter last year, the company earned $0.83 EPS. Analysts forecast that Masco Co. will post 4.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Masco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.65%. This is a positive change from Masco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. Masco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 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.