HighTower Advisors LLC Has $7.85 Million Holdings in Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS)

HighTower Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS - Free Report) by 8.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 108,112 shares of the construction company's stock after purchasing an additional 8,293 shares during the period. HighTower Advisors LLC owned approximately 0.05% of Masco worth $7,846,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Masco during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Masco in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Masco in the fourth quarter worth $30,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its stake in shares of Masco by 26.7% in the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 703 shares of the construction company's stock worth $51,000 after buying an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Masco by 74.3% in the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 774 shares of the construction company's stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 330 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.91% of the company's stock.

Masco Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MAS traded down $0.76 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $69.65. 6,155,154 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,574,617. Masco Co. has a 52 week low of $63.81 and a 52 week high of $86.70. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $75.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $78.25. 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 market cap of $14.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.52, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.24.

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Masco (NYSE:MAS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The construction company reported $0.89 earnings per share 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 in the previous year, the company earned $0.83 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Masco Co. will post 4.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Masco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st were given a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. This is a boost from Masco's previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.78%. Masco's payout ratio is 32.98%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Zelman & Associates upgraded shares of Masco to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a "sector perform" rating and issued a $74.00 price target on shares of Masco in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Masco from $94.00 to $91.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Oppenheimer raised shares of Masco from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $89.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Masco from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $96.00 to $89.00 in a report on Monday, December 16th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Masco presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $86.32.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Masco news, CEO Keith J. Allman sold 21,723 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.36, for a total value of $1,658,768.28. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 60,267 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,601,988.12. The trade was a 26.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Renee Straber sold 3,139 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.78, for a total transaction of $225,317.42. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 33,027 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,370,678.06. This trade represents a 8.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.