New York State Common Retirement Fund Lowers Stock Holdings in Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS)

New York State Common Retirement Fund decreased its position in shares of Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS) by 2.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 553,557 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 16,646 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned approximately 0.25% of Masco worth $37,077,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in shares of Masco by 15.4% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 5,320,936 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $284,404,000 after purchasing an additional 711,988 shares during the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Masco by 1,307.8% in the third quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 686,794 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $36,708,000 after purchasing an additional 638,010 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Masco by 443.5% in the third quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 502,157 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $26,829,000 after purchasing an additional 409,767 shares during the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd grew its stake in shares of Masco by 87.3% in the third quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 815,888 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $43,609,000 after purchasing an additional 380,267 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Yacktman Asset Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Masco in the third quarter worth about $19,542,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Masco news, insider Jai Shah sold 42,552 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.36, for a total transaction 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 SEC, which is available through this link. In other Masco news, insider Jai Shah sold 42,552 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.36, for a total transaction 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 SEC, which is available through this link. Also, VP Richard Allan Marshall sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.05, for a total transaction of $385,250.00. Following 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 sold a total of 83,762 shares of company stock worth $6,337,597 in the last three months. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Masco Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MAS opened at $69.74 on Thursday. Masco Co. has a twelve month low of $47.66 and a twelve month high of $78.94. The firm has a market cap of $15.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.39, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a 50 day moving average of $75.31 and a 200 day moving average of $66.74. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 30.05.

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

Masco Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 22nd were issued a $0.29 dividend. This is a positive change from Masco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 21st. Masco’s payout ratio is presently 28.93%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

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.