Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC Raises Holdings in Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS)

Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS) by 6.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 219,120 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,568 shares during the period. Masco accounts for about 1.3% of Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 19th biggest position. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Masco were worth $17,135,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Masco by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,294,294 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $864,103,000 after purchasing an additional 194,297 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in shares of Masco by 21.0% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,997,839 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $218,063,000 after acquiring an additional 520,555 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in Masco by 0.9% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,950,880 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $241,825,000 after acquiring an additional 26,259 shares in the last quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC increased its holdings in Masco by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 995,950 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $83,600,000 after acquiring an additional 14,870 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in Masco by 956.3% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 989,640 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $83,070,000 after acquiring an additional 895,950 shares during the period. 93.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Masco Price Performance

Shares of Masco stock opened at $80.43 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.74, a current ratio of 1.83 and a quick ratio of 1.21. Masco Co. has a one year low of $63.81 and a one year high of $86.70. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $76.93 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $78.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 1.25.

Masco (NYSE:MAS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The construction company reported $1.08 EPS for the quarter, hitting the consensus estimate of $1.08. The company had revenue of $1.98 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2 billion. Masco had a net margin of 10.54% and a return on equity of 615.54%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.00 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Masco Co. will post 4.09 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MAS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Masco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and issued a $85.00 price target (down previously from $92.00) on shares of Masco in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Citigroup cut their price objective on Masco from $82.00 to $77.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Masco from $89.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Zelman & Associates upgraded shares of Masco to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $86.27.

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.