Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS) Position Decreased by Canada Pension Plan Investment Board

Canada Pension Plan Investment Board cut its holdings in shares of Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS - Free Report) by 18.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 434,857 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 98,067 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board owned approximately 0.20% of Masco worth $31,558,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Masco during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $129,306,000. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings 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 valued at $218,063,000 after purchasing an additional 520,555 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Masco in the fourth quarter valued at $33,157,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Masco by 14.7% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,821,629 shares of the construction company's stock worth $204,766,000 after buying an additional 360,931 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its position in Masco by 91.6% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 708,830 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $51,440,000 after buying an additional 338,925 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.91% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Masco

In related news, CEO Keith J. Allman sold 21,723 shares of Masco stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 60,267 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,601,988.12. This trade represents a 26.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Renee Straber sold 3,139 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.78, for a total value of $225,317.42. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 33,027 shares in the company, valued at $2,370,678.06. This represents a 8.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Masco Stock Up 1.1 %

MAS stock opened at $61.56 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.74, a current ratio of 1.75 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The company has a 50-day moving average of $69.93 and a two-hundred day moving average of $75.73. The stock has a market capitalization of $13.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.24. Masco Co. has a 52-week low of $57.27 and a 52-week high of $86.70.

Masco (NYSE:MAS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The construction company reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business posted $0.83 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Masco Co. will post 4.34 EPS for the current year.

Masco Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st were paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. This is a boost from Masco's previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. Masco's dividend payout ratio is presently 32.98%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on MAS. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Masco from $82.00 to $65.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Oppenheimer upgraded shares of Masco from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $89.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Masco from $82.00 to $77.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Masco from $85.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on Masco from $87.00 to $75.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Masco has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $83.37.

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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