Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. Grows Stake in Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS)

Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. lifted its stake in Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS) by 13.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,505 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 898 shares during the quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.’s holdings in Masco were worth $545,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MAS. ORG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new position in Masco in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Masco during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Masco in the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new position in Masco in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its stake in Masco by 26.7% during the 4th quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 703 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.91% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on MAS shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Masco from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Oppenheimer raised shares of Masco from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $89.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Masco from $94.00 to $91.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Masco from $84.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and set a $74.00 target price on shares of Masco in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $86.32.

Masco Trading Down 2.6 %

Masco stock opened at $68.63 on Monday. Masco Co. has a 12-month low of $63.81 and a 12-month high of $86.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.25, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.24. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $75.24 and a 200 day moving average of $77.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.74.

Masco (NYSE:MAS) last announced 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. As a group, research analysts predict that Masco Co. will post 4.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Masco Increases Dividend

The firm 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 is a positive change 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.81%. Masco’s dividend payout ratio is 32.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Keith J. Allman sold 21,723 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Renee Straber sold 3,139 shares of Masco stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.78, for a total transaction of $225,317.42. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 33,027 shares in the company, 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. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Masco

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.