United Super Pty Ltd in its capacity as Trustee for the Construction & Building Unions Superannuation Fund Acquires Shares of 9,500 Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS)

United Super Pty Ltd in its capacity as Trustee for the Construction & Building Unions Superannuation Fund bought a new position in shares of Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 9,500 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $689,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in MAS. Modern Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Masco by 10.5% in the 4th quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,007 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $311,000 after buying an additional 381 shares during the last quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC raised its position in shares of Masco by 19.8% in the 4th quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 80,077 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $5,811,000 after purchasing an additional 13,212 shares in the last quarter. CoreFirst Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of Masco in the fourth quarter worth $109,000. Haverford Trust Co raised its holdings in Masco by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Haverford Trust Co now owns 463,733 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $33,653,000 after acquiring an additional 3,174 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Stevens Capital Management LP grew its holdings in Masco by 107.9% during the 4th quarter. Stevens Capital Management LP now owns 10,585 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $768,000 after acquiring an additional 5,494 shares in the last quarter. 93.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MAS. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Masco from $82.00 to $77.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Oppenheimer upgraded 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. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Masco from $85.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and set a $74.00 price objective on shares of Masco in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Masco from $94.00 to $91.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Nine equities research 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, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $86.32.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Renee Straber sold 3,139 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 33,027 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,370,678.06. This represents a 8.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Keith J. Allman sold 21,723 shares of Masco stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $4,601,988.12. This trade represents a 26.49 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Masco Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MAS opened at $70.33 on Wednesday. Masco Co. has a 12-month low of $63.81 and a 12-month high of $86.70. The company has a current ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.74. The company has a market cap of $14.91 billion, a PE ratio of 18.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.24. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $75.71 and a 200-day simple moving average of $78.09.

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

Masco Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st were given a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. This is a boost from Masco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.76%. Masco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 32.98%.

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.