Nicolet Advisory Services LLC Has $1.30 Million Stock Position in Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS)

Nicolet Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS) by 7.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 17,955 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 1,307 shares during the quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Masco were worth $1,295,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Masco during the 4th quarter valued at $129,306,000. Nordea Investment Management AB raised 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. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Masco during the fourth quarter valued at about $33,157,000. KBC Group NV grew its position in Masco by 91.6% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 708,830 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $51,440,000 after buying an additional 338,925 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 299,520 shares during the period. 93.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on MAS. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and set a $74.00 price objective on shares of Masco in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Masco from $94.00 to $91.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Oppenheimer raised shares of Masco from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $89.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Zelman & Associates upgraded Masco to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on Masco in a research note on Tuesday. They issued a “hold” rating and a $71.00 price target on the stock. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Masco currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $85.30.

Masco Stock Up 1.8 %

NYSE:MAS opened at $71.07 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $74.73 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $77.73. 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 company has a market cap of $15.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.24. Masco Co. has a 52-week low of $63.81 and a 52-week high of $86.70.

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

Masco Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors 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 1.74%. This is an increase from Masco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. 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 stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.78, for a total value of $225,317.42. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 33,027 shares in the company, valued at $2,370,678.06. This represents a 8.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Keith J. Allman sold 21,723 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were 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. This represents a 26.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Masco 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.