Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. Grows Stock Holdings in Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS)

Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. grew its holdings in Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS) by 13.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,505 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 898 shares during the period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.’s holdings in Masco were worth $545,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Allworth Financial LP grew its position in Masco by 17.3% in the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 901 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $71,000 after acquiring an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Equitable Trust Co. lifted its stake in shares of Masco by 1.7% in the 4th 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 last quarter. Tealwood Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Masco by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Tealwood Asset Management Inc. now owns 17,921 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,301,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the period. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its position in shares of Masco by 26.7% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 703 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Keybank National Association OH raised its holdings in Masco by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 4,165 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $302,000 after buying an additional 151 shares during the period. 93.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Citigroup dropped their price objective 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. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Masco from $94.00 to $91.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Masco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $96.00 to $89.00 in a research report on Monday, December 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Masco from $85.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised Masco from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $89.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $86.32.

Masco Stock Down 2.6 %

Masco stock opened at $68.63 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.74. The firm has a market cap of $14.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.24. The business has a fifty day moving average of $75.24 and a two-hundred day moving average of $77.92. Masco Co. has a twelve month low of $63.81 and a twelve month high of $86.70.

Masco (NYSE:MAS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The construction company reported $0.89 earnings per share 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 previous year, the company posted $0.83 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Masco Co. will post 4.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Masco Increases Dividend

The company 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.81%. This is an increase from Masco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Masco’s payout ratio is presently 32.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Renee Straber sold 3,139 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was 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 owns 33,027 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,370,678.06. This represents a 8.68 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Keith J. Allman sold 21,723 shares of the business’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 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.