Quest Partners LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS)

Quest Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS - Free Report) by 104.5% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 29,663 shares of the construction company's stock after purchasing an additional 15,161 shares during the quarter. Quest Partners LLC's holdings in Masco were worth $2,490,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Masco during the 2nd quarter valued at about $82,363,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in shares of Masco by 956.3% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 989,640 shares of the construction company's stock worth $83,070,000 after buying an additional 895,950 shares during the period. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Masco by 66.5% during the 2nd 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 in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Masco by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,300,591 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $2,074,591,000 after acquiring an additional 721,117 shares during the period. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Masco by 55.8% in 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 in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.91% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Barclays boosted their price objective on Masco from $92.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Masco from $80.00 to $83.50 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Loop Capital upped their target price on shares of Masco from $76.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Royal Bank of Canada cut shares of Masco from an "outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating and increased their target price for the company from $79.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Masco from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Masco has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $85.96.

Insider Buying and Selling at Masco

In related news, VP Kenneth G. Cole sold 37,814 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.32, for a total transaction of $2,961,592.48. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 36,980 shares in the company, valued at $2,896,273.60. This represents a 50.56 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Masco Trading Down 1.5 %

Masco stock traded down $1.18 during trading on Monday, hitting $77.24. The company had a trading volume of 1,025,481 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,796,643. Masco Co. has a 1-year low of $58.89 and a 1-year high of $86.70. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $81.86 and its 200-day simple moving average is $75.23. The stock has a market cap of $16.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 1.24. 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 earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The construction company reported $1.08 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts' consensus estimates of $1.08. The company had revenue of $1.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2 billion. Masco had a return on equity of 615.54% and a net margin of 10.54%. Masco's revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.00 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Masco Co. will post 4.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Masco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.50%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. Masco's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 30.85%.

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.