1,245 Shares in Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS) Purchased by Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc.

Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 1,245 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $105,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in MAS. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Masco by 11.9% in the first quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 6,619 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $522,000 after acquiring an additional 703 shares during the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its holdings in Masco by 4.7% in the 1st quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 432,792 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $34,139,000 after buying an additional 19,579 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC raised its holdings in Masco by 26.1% in the 1st quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 20,182 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,590,000 after buying an additional 4,183 shares during the last quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Masco by 98.8% in the 1st quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 26,144 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,062,000 after buying an additional 12,990 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Plato Investment Management Ltd raised its holdings in Masco by 29,928.6% in the 1st quarter. Plato Investment Management Ltd now owns 8,408 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $663,000 after buying an additional 8,380 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.91% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MAS has been the subject of a number of research reports. StockNews.com lowered shares of Masco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Masco from $89.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Masco from $89.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Masco from $92.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Masco from $78.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $85.96.

Insider Transactions at Masco

In other news, VP Kenneth G. Cole sold 37,814 shares of Masco stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.32, for a total transaction of $2,961,592.48. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 36,980 shares in the company, valued at $2,896,273.60. The trade was a 50.56 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Masco Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MAS opened at $80.41 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.83, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.74. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $81.77 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $75.63. Masco Co. has a 1-year low of $58.91 and a 1-year high of $86.70. The stock has a market cap of $17.35 billion, a PE ratio of 21.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 1.24.

Masco (NYSE:MAS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The construction company reported $1.08 EPS for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08. The company had revenue of $1.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2 billion. Masco had a return on equity of 615.54% and a net margin of 10.54%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.00 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Masco Co. will post 4.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Masco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th were paid a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.44%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. Masco’s payout ratio is 30.85%.

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.