AlphaQuest LLC Sells 5,943 Shares of Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS)

AlphaQuest LLC lowered its stake in shares of Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS - Free Report) by 20.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 23,720 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 5,943 shares during the period. AlphaQuest LLC's holdings in Masco were worth $1,721,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Masco by 1.9% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,294,294 shares of the construction company's stock worth $864,103,000 after buying an additional 194,297 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in shares of Masco by 10.2% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,250,400 shares of the construction company's stock worth $235,881,000 after buying an additional 299,520 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in shares of Masco by 21.0% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,997,839 shares of the construction company's stock worth $218,063,000 after buying an additional 520,555 shares in the last quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC raised its position 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 worth $73,737,000 after buying an additional 20,129 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Masco by 8.6% in 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.91% of the company's stock.

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Masco Trading Down 0.4 %

MAS traded down $0.29 on Wednesday, hitting $71.10. 1,522,445 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,553,920. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $76.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $78.61. 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 12 month low of $63.81 and a 12 month high of $86.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.07 billion, a PE ratio of 18.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.24.

Masco (NYSE:MAS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 838.32% and a net margin of 10.50%. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.83 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Masco Co. will post 4.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Masco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st were given a $0.31 dividend. This is a positive change from Masco's previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. Masco's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.98%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MAS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Masco from $82.00 to $77.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Masco from $85.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com cut Masco from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Zelman & Associates raised Masco to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised Masco from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $89.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Nine investment 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 company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $86.32.

Insider Transactions at Masco

In other news, CEO Keith J. Allman sold 21,723 shares of Masco stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.36, for a total value of $1,658,768.28. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 60,267 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,601,988.12. This trade represents a 26.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

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.