abrdn plc Decreases Stock Position in Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS)

abrdn plc decreased its stake in Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS - Free Report) by 7.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 78,695 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 6,673 shares during the period. abrdn plc's holdings in Masco were worth $5,707,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MAS. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its position in Masco by 9.3% during the second quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 31,846 shares of the construction company's stock worth $2,123,000 after acquiring an additional 2,698 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank raised its position in Masco by 5.9% during the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 44,459 shares of the construction company's stock worth $3,732,000 after acquiring an additional 2,490 shares during the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. raised its position in Masco by 37.8% during the third quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 2,489 shares of the construction company's stock worth $209,000 after acquiring an additional 683 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its position in Masco by 1.9% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 56,926 shares of the construction company's stock worth $4,778,000 after acquiring an additional 1,071 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt raised its position in Masco by 410.2% during the third quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt now owns 2,612 shares of the construction company's stock worth $219,000 after acquiring an additional 2,100 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.91% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MAS. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Masco from $80.00 to $83.50 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Masco from $78.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Masco from $84.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday. StockNews.com lowered shares of Masco from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Masco from $94.00 to $91.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $85.58.

Masco Trading Down 2.5 %

MAS traded down $1.94 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $76.71. 2,026,948 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,497,184. The company has a current ratio of 1.83, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.74. Masco Co. has a 1 year low of $63.81 and a 1 year high of $86.70. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $76.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $78.72. The firm has a market cap of $16.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.25.

Masco (NYSE:MAS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 10.54% and a return on equity of 615.54%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.83 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Masco Co. will post 4.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Masco Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be paid a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. 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 1.62%. Masco's dividend payout ratio is 30.85%.

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.