Securian Asset Management Inc. Sells 546 Shares of Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS)

Securian Asset Management Inc. trimmed its position in Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS) by 4.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 11,524 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 546 shares during the period. Securian Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Masco were worth $836,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of MAS. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in Masco by 20.6% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 331,883 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $28,147,000 after acquiring an additional 56,626 shares in the last quarter. Seizert Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in Masco by 21.7% during the third quarter. Seizert Capital Partners LLC now owns 540,437 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $45,364,000 after acquiring an additional 96,415 shares in the last quarter. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Masco by 6.6% during the fourth quarter. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 219,120 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $17,135,000 after acquiring an additional 13,568 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its holdings in Masco by 69.1% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Empower Advisory Group LLC raised its holdings in Masco by 2.0% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. 93.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Masco

In other Masco news, CEO Keith J. Allman sold 21,723 shares of the firm’s 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 60,267 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,601,988.12. This trade represents a 26.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Renee Straber sold 3,139 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.78, for a total value of $225,317.42. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 33,027 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,370,678.06. This represents 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.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on MAS. Barclays upped their target price on Masco from $84.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Masco from $94.00 to $91.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Oppenheimer upgraded Masco from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $89.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Zelman & Associates upgraded Masco to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on Masco from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Nine research 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 stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $86.32.

Masco Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE:MAS opened at $70.35 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $14.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.24. Masco Co. has a 1 year low of $63.81 and a 1 year high of $86.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.74, a current ratio of 1.75 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $76.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $78.47.

Masco (NYSE:MAS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The construction company reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.83 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that Masco Co. will post 4.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Masco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st were issued a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.76%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. This is an increase from Masco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Masco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.98%.

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.