Morningstar Investment Management LLC Acquires 42,562 Shares of Masco Corporation $MAS

Morningstar Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Masco Corporation (NYSE:MAS) by 93.7% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 87,998 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 42,562 shares during the quarter. Morningstar Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Masco were worth $5,312,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. State Street Corp lifted its position in Masco by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,235,505 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $649,545,000 after acquiring an additional 60,430 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Masco by 19.2% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,063,286 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $384,776,000 after purchasing an additional 977,684 shares during the period. Boston Partners grew its holdings in Masco by 1.0% in the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 5,850,170 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $411,832,000 after purchasing an additional 58,609 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in shares of Masco by 76.1% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,826,584 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $306,295,000 after purchasing an additional 2,085,454 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Masco by 18.0% during the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,405,974 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $216,143,000 after purchasing an additional 518,679 shares in the last quarter. 93.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Masco Trading Up 2.6%

Shares of NYSE MAS opened at $79.32 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $74.41 and its 200-day moving average price is $70.01. The company has a market cap of $16.00 billion, a PE ratio of 19.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.91 and a beta of 1.29. Masco Corporation has a 52-week low of $58.16 and a 52-week high of $83.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 109.07, a quick ratio of 1.11 and a current ratio of 1.75.

Masco (NYSE:MAS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The construction company reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.16. The firm had revenue of $1.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.07 billion. Masco had a net margin of 10.90% and a return on equity of 815.20%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.87 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Masco Corporation will post 4.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Masco announced that its board has approved a share buyback program on Thursday, May 7th that allows the company to repurchase $300.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the construction company to buy up to 2.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Masco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 8th. Investors of record on Friday, May 22nd were given a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.28 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. Masco’s dividend payout ratio is 31.76%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on MAS. Evercore raised Masco from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $78.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 13th. UBS Group upped their price target on Masco from $96.00 to $97.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Masco from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Masco from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 23rd. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Masco from $78.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $80.67.

About Masco

Masco Corporation is a global leader in the design, manufacture and distribution of branded home improvement and building products. Founded in 1929 and headquartered in Livonia, Michigan, the company has evolved from a small door‐bell manufacturer into a diversified enterprise serving both residential and commercial markets. Over its history, Masco has grown through a combination of organic innovation and strategic acquisitions, building a portfolio of well-recognized brands.

The company’s product offerings are organized into two primary segments.