Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS) Shares Acquired by Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd.

Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS - Free Report) by 1.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 418,864 shares of the construction company's stock after purchasing an additional 6,127 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. owned approximately 0.19% of Masco worth $30,242,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MAS. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of Masco by 20.6% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 331,883 shares of the construction company's stock worth $28,147,000 after buying an additional 56,626 shares during the period. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Masco by 6.6% during the 4th quarter. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 219,120 shares of the construction company's stock worth $17,135,000 after acquiring an additional 13,568 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in Masco by 69.1% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,544 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $112,000 after acquiring an additional 631 shares during the period. Empower Advisory Group LLC boosted its holdings in Masco by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,016,079 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $73,737,000 after acquiring an additional 20,129 shares during the period. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. grew its position in Masco by 20.5% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 11,337 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $823,000 after acquiring an additional 1,931 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.91% of the company's stock.

Remove Ads

Masco Stock Down 8.8 %

MAS stock traded down $6.26 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $64.80. 2,314,218 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,654,289. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $74.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $77.73. Masco Co. has a 1-year low of $63.19 and a 1-year high of $86.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.74, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.75. The company has a market cap of $13.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.24.

Masco (NYSE:MAS - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.83 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Masco Co. will post 4.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Masco Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st were paid a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.91%. This is a boost from Masco's previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Masco's payout ratio is currently 32.98%.

Insider Activity

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. UBS Group lowered their price objective 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. Zelman & Associates raised shares of Masco to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Citigroup cut their price objective on Masco from $82.00 to $77.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Oppenheimer upgraded Masco from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $89.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Masco from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and cut their price target for the stock from $96.00 to $89.00 in a report on Monday, December 16th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $85.30.

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.