Stevens Capital Management LP Raises Position in Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS)

Stevens Capital Management LP lifted its stake in shares of Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS) by 107.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,585 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,494 shares during the quarter. Stevens Capital Management LP’s holdings in Masco were worth $768,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Masco by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,294,294 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $864,103,000 after purchasing an additional 194,297 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in Masco by 10.2% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,250,400 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $235,881,000 after acquiring an additional 299,520 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its stake in Masco by 21.0% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,997,839 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $218,063,000 after acquiring an additional 520,555 shares during the last quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC lifted its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 20,129 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC grew its holdings in Masco by 49.2% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 883,859 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $74,192,000 after acquiring an additional 291,658 shares in the last quarter. 93.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Masco Trading Down 1.1 %

NYSE MAS opened at $69.65 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $75.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $78.18. Masco Co. has a one year low of $63.81 and a one year high of $86.70. 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 firm has a market cap 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 (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, beating 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 firm posted $0.83 EPS. Analysts expect that Masco Co. will post 4.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Masco Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st were issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. This is an increase from Masco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.78%. Masco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Masco

In related news, VP Renee Straber sold 3,139 shares of Masco stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.78, for a total value of $225,317.42. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 33,027 shares in the company, valued at $2,370,678.06. The trade was a 8.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Keith J. Allman sold 21,723 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 60,267 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,601,988.12. The trade was a 26.49 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed a “sector perform” rating and set a $74.00 price objective on shares of Masco in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Citigroup decreased their price target on Masco from $82.00 to $77.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Barclays increased their price objective on Masco from $84.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Masco from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Finally, Zelman & Associates upgraded shares of Masco to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.