Mizuho Securities USA LLC Purchases 6,296 Shares of Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS)

Mizuho Securities USA LLC grew its position in shares of Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS) by 44.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 20,448 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 6,296 shares during the quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC’s holdings in Masco were worth $1,484,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MAS. State Street Corp lifted its position in Masco by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,294,294 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $864,103,000 after acquiring an additional 194,297 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Masco by 10.2% during 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 purchasing an additional 299,520 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in shares of Masco by 21.0% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,997,839 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $218,063,000 after buying an additional 520,555 shares during the last quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC increased its holdings in Masco by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,016,079 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $73,737,000 after buying an additional 20,129 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted 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 acquiring an additional 291,658 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.91% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently commented on MAS. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Masco from $84.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Masco from $85.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Citigroup dropped their price target on Masco from $82.00 to $77.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $74.00 price objective on shares of Masco in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their target price on Masco from $94.00 to $91.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $86.32.

Masco Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MAS opened at $70.33 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $14.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.70, a P/E/G 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 firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $75.71 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $78.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.74, a current ratio of 1.75 and a quick ratio of 1.15.

Masco (NYSE:MAS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The construction company reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 in the previous year, the business posted $0.83 EPS. Research analysts expect that Masco Co. will post 4.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Masco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st were given a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.76%. This is a boost from Masco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Masco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.98%.

Insider Activity at Masco

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

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.