EP Wealth Advisors LLC Has $1.30 Million Stock Position in Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS)

EP Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS) by 4.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 17,901 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 808 shares during the period. EP Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Masco were worth $1,299,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of Masco by 20.6% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 331,883 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $28,147,000 after purchasing an additional 56,626 shares during the last quarter. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Masco by 6.6% in the 4th quarter. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 219,120 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $17,135,000 after buying an additional 13,568 shares during the last quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Masco by 5,050.0% in the 4th quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,300 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $747,000 after buying an additional 10,100 shares during the period. Empower Advisory Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Masco by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,016,079 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $73,737,000 after buying an additional 20,129 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. boosted its position in shares of Masco by 20.5% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 11,337 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $823,000 after acquiring an additional 1,931 shares during the period. 93.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on MAS. UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $80.00 target price (down previously from $91.00) on shares of Masco in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on shares of Masco from $82.00 to $71.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Barclays set a $71.00 target price on Masco and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on Masco from $74.00 to $62.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Zelman & Associates raised Masco to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Masco currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $73.10.

Insider Activity at Masco

In related news, CEO Keith J. Allman sold 21,723 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Renee Straber sold 3,139 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 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. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Masco Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of MAS stock opened at $62.09 on Friday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $13.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.23. Masco Co. has a 12-month low of $56.55 and a 12-month high of $86.70. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $65.40 and a 200 day moving average price of $73.39.

Masco (NYSE:MAS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The construction company reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.92 by ($0.05). Masco had a return on equity of 838.32% and a net margin of 10.50%. The business had revenue of $1.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.84 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.93 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Masco Co. will post 4.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Masco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st were issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. This is a boost from Masco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Masco’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.88%.

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.