Swiss National Bank Sells 36,900 Shares of Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS)

Swiss National Bank reduced its position in Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS) by 5.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 616,600 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 36,900 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank owned 0.29% of Masco worth $44,747,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Masco by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,294,294 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $864,103,000 after purchasing an additional 194,297 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in Masco by 10.2% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,250,400 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $235,881,000 after purchasing an additional 299,520 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in Masco by 21.0% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,997,839 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $218,063,000 after purchasing an additional 520,555 shares in the last quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC boosted its stake in Masco by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,016,079 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $73,737,000 after purchasing an additional 20,129 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its stake in Masco by 49.2% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 883,859 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $74,192,000 after purchasing an additional 291,658 shares in the last quarter. 93.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Masco news, VP Renee Straber sold 3,139 shares of Masco stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.78, for a total transaction of $225,317.42. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 33,027 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,370,678.06. The trade was a 8.68 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Keith J. Allman sold 21,723 shares of Masco stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.36, for a total transaction of $1,658,768.28. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 60,267 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,601,988.12. This trade represents a 26.49 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Masco Price Performance

NYSE:MAS opened at $70.35 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.74, a current ratio of 1.75 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The firm has a market cap of $14.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $76.04 and a 200-day moving average price of $78.47. Masco Co. has a 1-year low of $63.81 and a 1-year high of $86.70.

Masco (NYSE:MAS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The construction company reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm posted $0.83 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast 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. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st were issued a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.76%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. This is a positive change from Masco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Masco’s payout ratio is presently 32.98%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently commented on MAS. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Masco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $96.00 to $89.00 in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Citigroup reduced their price target 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. The Goldman Sachs Group raised 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. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Masco from $84.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised shares of Masco from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $89.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $86.32.

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.