Tredje AP fonden Has $1.27 Million Stake in Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS)

Tredje AP fonden trimmed its stake in Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS) by 50.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 17,531 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 17,530 shares during the period. Tredje AP fonden’s holdings in Masco were worth $1,272,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Masco by 20.6% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 331,883 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $28,147,000 after acquiring an additional 56,626 shares during the period. Seizert Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Masco by 21.7% during the 3rd quarter. Seizert Capital Partners LLC now owns 540,437 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $45,364,000 after acquiring an additional 96,415 shares during the period. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of 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 during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Masco by 69.1% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,544 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $112,000 after acquiring an additional 631 shares during the period. Finally, Empower Advisory Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Masco by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,016,079 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $73,737,000 after acquiring an additional 20,129 shares during the period. 93.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Masco Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE MAS opened at $70.35 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $14.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.24. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $76.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $78.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.74, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.75. Masco Co. has a 52-week low of $63.81 and a 52-week high of $86.70.

Masco (NYSE:MAS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The construction company reported $0.89 earnings per share 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 in the previous year, the firm earned $0.83 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Masco Co. will post 4.34 EPS for the current year.

Masco Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st were issued a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.76%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. This is a boost from Masco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Masco’s dividend payout ratio is 32.98%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on MAS shares. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Masco from $82.00 to $77.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a 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 objective for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Masco from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Masco from $94.00 to $91.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Masco from $85.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Masco presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $86.32.

Insider Activity

In other 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 owns 60,267 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,601,988.12. The trade was a 26.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Renee Straber sold 3,139 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 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.

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.