Schechter Investment Advisors LLC Sells 1,008 Shares of Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS)

Schechter Investment Advisors LLC lowered its stake in Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS) by 17.2% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 4,866 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 1,008 shares during the period. Schechter Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Masco were worth $353,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Masco by 1.9% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,294,294 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $864,103,000 after acquiring an additional 194,297 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings 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 worth $235,881,000 after purchasing an additional 299,520 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in shares of Masco by 21.0% in 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. Empower Advisory Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Masco by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,016,079 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $73,737,000 after purchasing an additional 20,129 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Masco by 8.6% during the third quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 922,566 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $77,440,000 after buying an additional 73,405 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Keith J. Allman sold 21,723 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 60,267 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,601,988.12. This represents a 26.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Masco Trading Up 1.6 %

Masco stock opened at $73.63 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $76.11 and a 200 day simple moving average of $78.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.58, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.74, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.75. Masco Co. has a 52 week low of $63.81 and a 52 week high of $86.70.

Masco (NYSE:MAS) last issued its 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 return on equity of 838.32% and a net margin of 10.50%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.83 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Masco Co. will post 4.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Masco Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be issued a $0.31 dividend. This is an increase from Masco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.68%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. Masco’s payout ratio is currently 32.98%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Zelman & Associates raised Masco to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Masco from $82.00 to $77.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Masco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Masco from $94.00 to $91.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Masco from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Masco 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.