Victory Capital Management Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS)

Victory Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS - Free Report) by 8.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 922,566 shares of the construction company's stock after buying an additional 73,405 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. owned about 0.43% of Masco worth $77,440,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of MAS. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new position in Masco in the second quarter valued at about $82,363,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in Masco by 956.3% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 989,640 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $83,070,000 after buying an additional 895,950 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Masco by 66.5% during the second 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 during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Masco by 2.8% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,300,591 shares of the construction company's stock worth $2,074,591,000 after acquiring an additional 721,117 shares during the period. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Masco by 55.8% during the 1st quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,538,952 shares of the construction company's stock worth $121,391,000 after acquiring an additional 551,203 shares during the last quarter. 93.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Masco from $78.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an "in-line" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered shares of Masco from an "outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $79.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. BMO Capital Markets raised 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. StockNews.com raised shares of Masco from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Loop Capital raised their price target on Masco from $76.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $85.96.

Masco Price Performance

MAS traded down $0.06 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $79.19. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,977,140 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,802,365. Masco Co. has a 12 month low of $58.89 and a 12 month high of $86.70. The stock has a market cap of $17.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.08, a P/E/G ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.24. The business's 50-day moving average price is $81.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $75.05. 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 (NYSE:MAS - Get Free Report) last announced 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. Masco had a net margin of 10.54% and a return on equity of 615.54%. The firm had revenue of $1.98 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.00 EPS. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Masco Co. will post 4.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Masco Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 25th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.46%. Masco's payout ratio is presently 30.85%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Kenneth G. Cole sold 37,814 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.32, for a total transaction of $2,961,592.48. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 36,980 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,896,273.60. This represents a 50.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.