Bank of New York Mellon Corp Sells 10,102 Shares of Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS)

Bank of New York Mellon Corp lowered its stake in Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS) by 0.5% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 2,096,312 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 10,102 shares during the quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp’s holdings in Masco were worth $152,129,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MAS. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in Masco by 21.0% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,997,839 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $218,063,000 after purchasing an additional 520,555 shares during the period. KBC Group NV raised its stake in Masco by 91.6% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 708,830 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $51,440,000 after purchasing an additional 338,925 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in Masco by 10.2% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,250,400 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $235,881,000 after purchasing an additional 299,520 shares during the period. Barclays PLC raised its stake in Masco by 49.2% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 883,859 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $74,192,000 after purchasing an additional 291,658 shares during the period. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec raised its stake in Masco by 4,028.2% during the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 200,795 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $16,855,000 after purchasing an additional 195,931 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Masco

In related news, 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 transaction of $1,658,768.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 60,267 shares in the company, valued at $4,601,988.12. The trade was a 26.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Masco Price Performance

Shares of Masco stock opened at $75.10 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $15.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.25. 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 stock has a 50 day moving average price of $76.15 and a 200-day moving average price of $78.81. Masco Co. has a one year low of $63.81 and a one year high of $86.70.

Masco (NYSE:MAS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The construction company reported $0.89 EPS 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 period in the previous year, the business posted $0.83 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Masco Co. will post 4.34 EPS for the current year.

Masco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.65%. This is a boost from Masco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Masco’s payout ratio is presently 32.98%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on MAS. UBS Group decreased their target price on Masco from $94.00 to $91.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Masco from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Zelman & Associates upgraded Masco to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Oppenheimer upgraded Masco from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $89.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Citigroup cut 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. Nine equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.