Assetmark Inc. Raises Stock Holdings in Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS)

Assetmark Inc. grew its stake in shares of Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS - Free Report) by 985.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 13,695 shares of the construction company's stock after acquiring an additional 12,433 shares during the quarter. Assetmark Inc.'s holdings in Masco were worth $994,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MAS. Keybank National Association OH boosted its holdings in Masco by 3.8% in the fourth quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 4,165 shares of the construction company's stock worth $302,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI boosted its stake in shares of Masco by 14.2% in the 4th quarter. Commerzbank Aktiengesellschaft FI now owns 4,430 shares of the construction company's stock worth $322,000 after buying an additional 550 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its holdings in shares of Masco by 52.3% in the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 4,690 shares of the construction company's stock worth $340,000 after acquiring an additional 1,610 shares during the period. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. increased its position in Masco by 74.3% during the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 774 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 330 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Masco by 23.4% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,562 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $113,000 after acquiring an additional 296 shares during the period. 93.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Masco Stock Performance

NYSE:MAS opened at $71.37 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $76.15 and a 200 day moving average price of $78.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.24. Masco Co. has a 12-month low of $63.81 and a 12-month high of $86.70. The company has a current ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.74.

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Masco (NYSE:MAS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The construction company reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) 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 last year, the company posted $0.83 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Masco Co. will post 4.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Masco Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st were issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.74%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. This is an increase from Masco's previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Masco's dividend payout ratio is 32.98%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MAS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. UBS Group cut their price target on Masco from $94.00 to $91.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Masco from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their target price for the company from $96.00 to $89.00 in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $74.00 price target on shares of Masco in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Masco from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on Masco from $84.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $86.32.

Insider Transactions at Masco

In related news, CEO Keith J. Allman sold 21,723 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.36, for a total transaction of $1,658,768.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 60,267 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,601,988.12. This represents a 26.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Masco Company 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.

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