Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Cuts Stake in Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lessened its holdings in Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS) by 15.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 298,773 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 55,777 shares during the period. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Masco were worth $25,079,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in shares of Masco by 1.9% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 9,830,723 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $655,414,000 after acquiring an additional 181,515 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in shares of Masco by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,950,880 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $241,825,000 after buying an additional 26,259 shares during the period. Impax Asset Management Group plc boosted its stake in shares of Masco by 10.0% in the 2nd quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 2,855,056 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $190,347,000 after buying an additional 259,205 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Masco by 66.5% during the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,823,934 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $121,581,000 after buying an additional 728,690 shares during the period. Finally, Ensign Peak Advisors Inc increased its stake in shares of Masco by 15.7% during the second quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 1,758,889 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $117,265,000 after buying an additional 238,512 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on MAS. Royal Bank of Canada cut shares of Masco from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $79.00 to $80.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Loop Capital boosted their target price on shares of Masco from $76.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Masco from $80.00 to $83.50 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on Masco from $95.00 to $94.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on Masco from $89.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Masco currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $85.96.

Masco Price Performance

MAS stock opened at $80.59 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.83, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.74. The company has a market capitalization of $17.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.43, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.24. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $81.69 and a 200-day simple moving average of $75.69. Masco Co. has a twelve month low of $59.72 and a twelve month high of $86.70.

Masco (NYSE:MAS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The construction company reported $1.08 earnings per share for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08. The firm had revenue of $1.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2 billion. Masco had a net margin of 10.54% and a return on equity of 615.54%. Masco’s quarterly revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.00 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Masco Co. will post 4.09 EPS for the current year.

Masco Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were given a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.44%. Masco’s payout ratio is 30.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Masco

In related news, VP Kenneth G. Cole sold 37,814 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.32, for a total transaction of $2,961,592.48. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 36,980 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,896,273.60. This trade represents a 50.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

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.