Securian Asset Management Inc. Sells 546 Shares of Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS)

Securian Asset Management Inc. lessened its stake in shares of Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS) by 4.5% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 11,524 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 546 shares during the quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Masco were worth $836,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of MAS. Assetmark Inc. lifted its position in shares of Masco by 139.9% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,262 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $106,000 after buying an additional 736 shares during the period. Sigma Planning Corp raised its position in Masco by 6.6% in the 3rd quarter. Sigma Planning Corp now owns 5,674 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $476,000 after purchasing an additional 351 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Masco by 59.4% in the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 596 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its position in Masco by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 493,445 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $41,420,000 after purchasing an additional 7,851 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Aigen Investment Management LP bought a new position in Masco in the 3rd quarter valued at $241,000. Institutional investors own 93.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Barclays lifted their price objective on Masco from $84.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $74.00 price objective on shares of Masco in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Zelman & Associates upgraded Masco to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Masco from $85.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Masco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their target price for the stock from $96.00 to $89.00 in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $86.32.

Insider Buying and Selling at Masco

In other Masco news, VP Renee Straber sold 3,139 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.78, for a total value of $225,317.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 33,027 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,370,678.06. The trade was a 8.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Keith J. Allman sold 21,723 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were 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 owns 60,267 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,601,988.12. This trade represents a 26.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Masco Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of Masco stock opened at $70.35 on Friday. 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 Co. has a 12 month low of $63.81 and a 12 month high of $86.70. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $76.04 and a 200 day simple moving average of $78.47. The stock has a market cap of $14.91 billion, a PE ratio of 18.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.24.

Masco (NYSE:MAS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The construction company reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) 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 business earned $0.83 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Masco Co. will post 4.34 EPS for the current year.

Masco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st were paid a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.76%. This is a boost from Masco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. 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.