Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS) Shares Sold by Icon Advisers Inc. Co.

Icon Advisers Inc. Co. trimmed its position in Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS) by 34.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 34,000 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 18,000 shares during the quarter. Icon Advisers Inc. Co.’s holdings in Masco were worth $2,467,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of MAS. Barclays PLC raised its position in Masco by 49.2% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 883,859 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $74,192,000 after acquiring an additional 291,658 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp increased its stake in Masco by 7.3% during the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 11,860 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $996,000 after buying an additional 808 shares in the last quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Masco by 18.0% in the third quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,914 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $326,000 after acquiring an additional 597 shares during the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new position in Masco in the 3rd quarter valued at $448,000. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Masco during the 3rd quarter worth $201,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on Masco in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued a “hold” rating and a $71.00 target price on the stock. Oppenheimer raised Masco from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $89.00 price target for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $74.00 price target on shares of Masco 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 target for the stock from $96.00 to $89.00 in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Masco from $85.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Ten 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $84.50.

Masco Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MAS opened at $61.86 on Monday. Masco Co. has a one year low of $57.27 and a one year high of $86.70. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $71.54 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $76.44. 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 company has a market capitalization of $13.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.24.

Masco (NYSE:MAS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The construction company reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate 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. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st were paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. This is an increase from Masco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.00%. Masco’s dividend payout ratio is presently 32.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Masco

In other 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 transaction of $1,658,768.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Renee Straber sold 3,139 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.78, for a total transaction of $225,317.42. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 33,027 shares in the company, valued at $2,370,678.06. This trade represents a 8.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Masco Company 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.