4,258 Shares in Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS) Purchased by Blueshift Asset Management LLC

Blueshift Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 4,258 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $309,000.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Masco by 20.6% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 331,883 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $28,147,000 after buying an additional 56,626 shares during the last quarter. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Masco by 6.6% during 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 purchasing an additional 13,568 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 631 shares in the last quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Masco by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,016,079 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $73,737,000 after purchasing an additional 20,129 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Masco by 20.5% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. 93.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Masco Stock Performance

NYSE:MAS opened at $69.65 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.74, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.75. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $75.87 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $78.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.77 billion, a PE ratio of 18.52, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.24. Masco Co. has a 52-week low of $63.81 and a 52-week high of $86.70.

Masco (NYSE:MAS) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 10.50% and a return on equity of 838.32%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.83 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Masco Co. will post 4.34 EPS for the current year.

Masco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st were given a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.78%. This is an increase from Masco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. Masco’s payout ratio is presently 32.98%.

Insider Transactions at Masco

In other Masco news, CEO Keith J. Allman sold 21,723 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 60,267 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,601,988.12. This represents a 26.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Renee Straber sold 3,139 shares of Masco stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was 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 $2,370,678.06. This trade represents a 8.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently commented on MAS shares. Zelman & Associates upgraded Masco to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Masco from $82.00 to $77.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Masco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $96.00 to $89.00 in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Oppenheimer raised shares of Masco from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $89.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Masco from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Masco has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $86.32.

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.