Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Sells 3,949 Shares of Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund cut its holdings in Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS) by 2.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 150,200 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 3,949 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund’s holdings in Masco were worth $10,900,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MAS. International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Masco by 13,069.3% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 29,631 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,487,000 after acquiring an additional 29,406 shares during the period. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Masco during the third quarter valued at about $330,000. Dakota Wealth Management bought a new stake in Masco during the third quarter valued at about $206,000. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its holdings in Masco by 40.0% during the third quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 14,860 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,242,000 after acquiring an additional 4,249 shares during the period. Finally, Modera Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Masco during the third quarter valued at about $203,000. 93.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on MAS shares. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of Masco from $95.00 to $94.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of Masco from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Evercore ISI upped their price target on shares of Masco from $78.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $74.00 target price on shares of Masco in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Loop Capital increased their target price on shares of Masco from $76.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $86.32.

Masco Stock Performance

NYSE:MAS opened at $76.11 on Wednesday. Masco Co. has a 12-month low of $63.81 and a 12-month high of $86.70. 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 capitalization of $16.13 billion, a PE ratio of 20.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.25. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $76.05 and a 200 day moving average price of $78.84.

Masco (NYSE:MAS) last posted 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 net margin of 10.50% and a return on equity of 838.32%. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.83 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate 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 will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. This is a positive change from Masco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.63%. Masco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.98%.

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.