Allianz SE Invests $269,000 in Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS)

Allianz SE bought a new stake in Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm bought 3,705 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $269,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Masco by 1.9% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,294,294 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $864,103,000 after purchasing an additional 194,297 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings 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 valued at $235,881,000 after buying an additional 299,520 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position 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 buying an additional 520,555 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Masco during the fourth quarter worth approximately $129,306,000. Finally, Empower Advisory Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Masco by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,016,079 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $73,737,000 after acquiring an additional 20,129 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.91% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on MAS. UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Masco from $94.00 to $91.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Masco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $96.00 to $89.00 in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Oppenheimer upgraded shares of Masco from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $89.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Masco from $85.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Masco from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $86.32.

Masco Price Performance

Shares of MAS stock opened at $68.63 on Monday. Masco Co. has a 12 month low of $63.81 and a 12 month high of $86.70. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $75.24 and a 200 day moving average price of $77.92. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.74. The firm has a market cap of $14.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.25, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.24.

Masco (NYSE:MAS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The construction company reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 EPS. Research analysts expect that Masco Co. will post 4.34 EPS for the current year.

Masco Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.81%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. This is an increase from Masco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Masco’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Masco

In related news, CEO Keith J. Allman sold 21,723 shares of Masco stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.36, for a total transaction of $1,658,768.28. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 60,267 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,601,988.12. This trade represents a 26.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Renee Straber sold 3,139 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 33,027 shares of the company’s stock, 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. 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.