NEOS Investment Management LLC Has $806,000 Holdings in Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS)

NEOS Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS) by 28.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 11,107 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,484 shares during the period. NEOS Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Masco were worth $806,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in shares of Masco by 21.0% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,997,839 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $218,063,000 after purchasing an additional 520,555 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Masco in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,157,000. KBC Group NV increased its position in shares of Masco by 91.6% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 708,830 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $51,440,000 after acquiring an additional 338,925 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in shares of Masco by 10.2% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,250,400 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $235,881,000 after acquiring an additional 299,520 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its holdings in shares of Masco by 49.2% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 883,859 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $74,192,000 after acquiring an additional 291,658 shares during the period. 93.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Masco

In related news, CEO Keith J. Allman sold 21,723 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 60,267 shares in the company, valued at $4,601,988.12. The trade was a 26.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, VP Renee Straber sold 3,139 shares of the 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 owns 33,027 shares in the company, valued at $2,370,678.06. The trade was a 8.68 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on MAS. Zelman & Associates raised shares of Masco to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Masco from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Barclays lifted their target price on Masco from $84.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Oppenheimer upgraded shares of Masco from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $89.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Masco from $85.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Masco currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $86.32.

Masco Price Performance

Shares of NYSE MAS opened at $68.63 on Monday. Masco Co. has a twelve month low of $63.81 and a twelve month high of $86.70. The company has a market cap of $14.55 billion, a PE ratio of 18.25, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.24. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $75.24 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $77.92. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.74.

Masco (NYSE:MAS) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 in the previous year, the firm posted $0.83 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Masco Co. will post 4.34 EPS for the current year.

Masco Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st were issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. This is an increase 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.81%. Masco’s payout ratio is presently 32.98%.

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.