State Street Corp Purchases 194,297 Shares of Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS)

State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS - Free Report) by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 10,294,294 shares of the construction company's stock after acquiring an additional 194,297 shares during the period. State Street Corp owned approximately 4.77% of Masco worth $864,103,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Innealta Capital LLC bought a new position in Masco in the second quarter valued at $25,000. Family Firm Inc. bought a new stake in Masco in the 2nd quarter valued at $30,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in shares of Masco in the third quarter valued at about $38,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in Masco during the third quarter worth about $43,000. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Masco by 59.4% in the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 596 shares of the construction company's stock worth $50,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.91% of the company's stock.

Masco Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MAS traded up $0.62 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $81.01. 1,325,019 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,407,758. Masco Co. has a twelve month low of $62.95 and a twelve month high of $86.70. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $81.43 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $76.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.74, a current ratio of 1.83 and a quick ratio of 1.21. The company has a market cap of $17.48 billion, a PE ratio of 21.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.23.

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. The firm had revenue of $1.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2 billion. Masco had a return on equity of 615.54% and a net margin of 10.54%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.00 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Masco Co. will post 4.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Masco Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 25th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th were paid a $0.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.43%. Masco's dividend payout ratio is 30.85%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MAS. Royal Bank of Canada lowered shares of Masco from an "outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $79.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Masco from $89.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. StockNews.com cut shares of Masco from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Masco from $89.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Loop Capital upped their price target on shares of Masco from $76.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $85.96.

Insider Activity at Masco

In other Masco news, VP Kenneth G. Cole sold 37,814 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.32, for a total value of $2,961,592.48. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 36,980 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,896,273.60. The trade was a 50.56 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.