Federated Hermes Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS)

Federated Hermes Inc. grew its stake in shares of Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS - Free Report) by 565.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 144,767 shares of the construction company's stock after purchasing an additional 122,998 shares during the quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. owned approximately 0.07% of Masco worth $9,652,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Meeder Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Masco in the second quarter worth about $246,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale lifted its position in shares of Masco by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 381,845 shares of the construction company's stock worth $25,284,000 after purchasing an additional 979 shares during the period. BOKF NA boosted its stake in shares of Masco by 27.9% during the second quarter. BOKF NA now owns 7,901 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $527,000 after purchasing an additional 1,723 shares in the last quarter. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. increased its holdings in Masco by 75.4% during the second quarter. Cornercap Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 37,377 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $2,492,000 after buying an additional 16,071 shares during the period. Finally, Achmea Investment Management B.V. raised its stake in Masco by 57.0% in the second quarter. Achmea Investment Management B.V. now owns 250,909 shares of the construction company's stock worth $16,728,000 after buying an additional 91,125 shares in the last quarter. 93.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Masco

In other news, VP Kenneth G. Cole sold 37,814 shares of the business'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 value of $2,961,592.48. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 36,980 shares in the company, valued at $2,896,273.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Masco from $73.00 to $66.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Masco from $79.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Masco from $78.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Masco from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Masco from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Masco has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $77.58.

Masco Stock Performance

Shares of MAS stock traded up $0.44 on Wednesday, hitting $81.69. The company had a trading volume of 1,680,210 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,875,457. Masco Co. has a twelve month low of $47.66 and a twelve month high of $83.49. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.18. The firm has a market cap of $17.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $75.90 and a 200-day moving average price of $72.94.

Masco (NYSE:MAS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The construction company reported $1.20 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.02. Masco had a return on equity of 602.39% and a net margin of 11.59%. The business had revenue of $2.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.10 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.19 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Masco Co. will post 4.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Masco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 2nd were given a $0.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 2nd. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.42%. Masco's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.43%.

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.