United Super Pty Ltd in its capacity as Trustee for the Construction & Building Unions Superannuation Fund Buys New Shares in Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS)

United Super Pty Ltd in its capacity as Trustee for the Construction & Building Unions Superannuation Fund bought a new position in Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 9,500 shares of the construction company's stock, valued at approximately $689,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Raymond James Trust N.A. boosted its stake in shares of Masco by 9.5% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 5,319 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $446,000 after purchasing an additional 461 shares in the last quarter. Algert Global LLC acquired a new position in Masco in the third quarter valued at about $470,000. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Masco by 75.2% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 2,583 shares of the construction company's stock worth $217,000 after buying an additional 1,109 shares in the last quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Masco by 8.5% in the third quarter. Summit Trail Advisors LLC now owns 13,518 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $1,135,000 after acquiring an additional 1,063 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Masco by 12.2% in the 3rd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 26,854 shares of the construction company's stock worth $2,254,000 after acquiring an additional 2,911 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.91% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. UBS Group cut their price objective on Masco from $94.00 to $91.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Masco from $85.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Masco from $82.00 to $77.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Oppenheimer raised shares of Masco from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $89.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Masco from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $96.00 to $89.00 in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Nine 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 company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Masco has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $86.32.

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Insider Buying and Selling at Masco

In related news, CEO Keith J. Allman sold 21,723 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,601,988.12. The trade was a 26.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Renee Straber sold 3,139 shares of the 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 owns 33,027 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,370,678.06. This trade represents a 8.68 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Masco Trading Down 2.6 %

Shares of NYSE:MAS traded down $1.83 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $68.63. The stock had a trading volume of 1,142,718 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,651,182. The firm has a market cap of $14.55 billion, a PE ratio of 18.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.24. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $75.24 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $77.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.74. Masco Co. has a twelve month low of $63.81 and a twelve month high of $86.70.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 last year, the business posted $0.83 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Masco Co. will post 4.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Masco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st were paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.81%. This is a boost from Masco's previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. Masco's dividend payout ratio is presently 32.98%.

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.