Boston Partners Sells 1,211,448 Shares of Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS)

Boston Partners trimmed its position in Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS) by 13.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 7,773,134 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 1,211,448 shares during the quarter. Boston Partners’ holdings in Masco were worth $564,990,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. ORG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Masco in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Masco in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Masco in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its stake in shares of Masco by 26.7% during the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 703 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Masco by 74.3% during the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 774 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $56,000 after acquiring an additional 330 shares during the last quarter. 93.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Masco Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MAS opened at $71.07 on Tuesday. Masco Co. has a 12 month low of $63.81 and a 12 month high of $86.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.90, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.24. 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 firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $76.00 and its 200-day simple moving average is $78.42.

Masco (NYSE:MAS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The construction company reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.01. Masco had a return on equity of 838.32% and a net margin of 10.50%. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.83 EPS. Analysts expect that Masco Co. will post 4.34 EPS for the current year.

Masco Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st were paid a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.74%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. This is a boost from Masco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Masco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.98%.

Insider Activity

In other Masco news, CEO Keith J. Allman sold 21,723 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.36, for a total value of $1,658,768.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 60,267 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,601,988.12. This represents a 26.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Renee Straber sold 3,139 shares of Masco stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.78, for a total value of $225,317.42. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 33,027 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,370,678.06. This represents a 8.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Masco from $85.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Masco from $82.00 to $77.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Oppenheimer raised shares of Masco from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $89.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Masco from $94.00 to $91.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $74.00 price objective on shares of Masco in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $86.32.

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.