4,781 Shares in Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS) Bought by GAMMA Investing LLC

GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new position in shares of Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 4,781 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $322,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. National Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Masco in the fourth quarter valued at $621,000. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lifted its holdings in shares of Masco by 26.3% in the fourth quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 153,446 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $10,278,000 after acquiring an additional 31,992 shares during the last quarter. Duality Advisers LP bought a new position in shares of Masco in the fourth quarter worth about $1,990,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Masco by 19.5% in the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 1,115 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $75,000 after acquiring an additional 182 shares during the last quarter. Finally, abrdn plc raised its holdings in Masco by 63.4% in the 4th quarter. abrdn plc now owns 97,052 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $6,501,000 after buying an additional 37,639 shares during the last quarter. 93.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Jai Shah sold 42,552 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.36, for a total transaction of $3,249,270.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 15,830 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,208,778.80. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Masco news, insider Jai Shah sold 42,552 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.36, for a total value of $3,249,270.72. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 15,830 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,208,778.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Richard Allan Marshall sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.05, for a total value of $385,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 10,465 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $806,328.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 83,762 shares of company stock valued at $6,337,597 in the last quarter. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on MAS shares. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Masco from $65.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. StockNews.com lowered Masco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Oppenheimer began coverage on Masco in a report on Friday, January 19th. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. Citigroup lifted their target price on Masco from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Masco from $73.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Masco currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $69.62.

Masco Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MAS opened at $69.74 on Thursday. Masco Co. has a 1-year low of $47.66 and a 1-year high of $78.94. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $75.31 and a 200-day moving average price of $66.74. The company has a market capitalization of $15.38 billion, a PE ratio of 17.39, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 30.05, a current ratio of 1.68 and a quick ratio of 1.08.

Masco (NYSE:MAS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The construction company reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.87 by $0.06. Masco had a return on equity of 3,111.50% and a net margin of 11.40%. The business had revenue of $1.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.94 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.87 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Masco Co. will post 4.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Masco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 22nd were paid a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 21st. This is an increase from Masco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Masco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.93%.

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.