CoreFirst Bank & Trust Purchases Shares of 1,500 Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS)

CoreFirst Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 1,500 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $109,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MAS. Raymond James Trust N.A. lifted its holdings in Masco by 9.5% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 5,319 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $446,000 after purchasing an additional 461 shares during the last quarter. Algert Global LLC bought a new position in shares of Masco in the third quarter valued at approximately $470,000. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Masco by 75.2% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 2,583 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $217,000 after acquiring an additional 1,109 shares in the last quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Masco by 8.5% during the 3rd quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 13,518 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,135,000 after purchasing an additional 1,063 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. increased its holdings in Masco by 12.2% during the 3rd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 26,854 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,254,000 after purchasing an additional 2,911 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.91% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on MAS. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Masco from $82.00 to $77.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Oppenheimer raised shares of Masco from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $89.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Masco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $96.00 to $89.00 in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $74.00 price target on shares of Masco in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Masco from $85.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $86.32.

Masco Price Performance

Shares of MAS opened at $70.33 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $14.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.24. Masco Co. has a 1 year low of $63.81 and a 1 year high of $86.70. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $75.71 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $78.09. The company has a current ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.74.

Masco (NYSE:MAS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The construction company reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 quarter last year, the business posted $0.83 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Masco Co. will post 4.34 earnings per share 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.76%. This is a boost from Masco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. Masco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.98%.

Insider Transactions at Masco

In related news, CEO Keith J. Allman sold 21,723 shares of Masco 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 60,267 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,601,988.12. The trade was a 26.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Renee Straber sold 3,139 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 33,027 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,370,678.06. This represents a 8.68 % 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 corporate insiders.

Masco Company Profile

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.