Atom Investors LP Takes Position in Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS)

Atom Investors LP purchased a new stake in Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS - Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 19,937 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $1,674,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in shares of Masco by 1.9% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 9,830,723 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $655,414,000 after purchasing an additional 181,515 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in shares of Masco by 0.9% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,950,880 shares of the construction company's stock worth $241,825,000 after acquiring an additional 26,259 shares during the last quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc boosted its position in Masco by 10.0% during the second quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 2,855,056 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $190,347,000 after purchasing an additional 259,205 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Masco by 66.5% in the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,823,934 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $121,581,000 after buying an additional 728,690 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ensign Peak Advisors Inc lifted its stake in shares of Masco by 15.7% in the 2nd quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 1,758,889 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $117,265,000 after purchasing an additional 238,512 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.91% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays boosted their price target on Masco from $92.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Masco from $90.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered shares of Masco from an "outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and raised their price target for the stock from $79.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. BMO Capital Markets upped 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. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their target price on Masco from $84.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $85.96.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, VP Kenneth G. Cole sold 37,814 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.32, for a total value of $2,961,592.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 36,980 shares in the company, valued at $2,896,273.60. The trade was a 50.56 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Masco Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MAS traded up $0.21 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $80.71. 238,952 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,780,930. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $81.62 and its 200-day simple moving average is $75.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.74, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a current ratio of 1.83. Masco Co. has a 12 month low of $61.82 and a 12 month high of $86.70. The firm has a market cap of $17.41 billion, a PE ratio of 21.35, a PEG ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.23.

Masco (NYSE:MAS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The construction company reported $1.08 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.08. The firm had revenue of $1.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2 billion. Masco had a net margin of 10.54% and a return on equity of 615.54%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.00 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Masco Co. will post 4.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Masco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were given a $0.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.44%. Masco's payout ratio is 30.85%.

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.