iA Global Asset Management Inc. Purchases 5,643 Shares of Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS)

iA Global Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS) by 22.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 30,451 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 5,643 shares during the period. iA Global Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Masco were worth $2,210,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Masco by 20.6% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 331,883 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $28,147,000 after purchasing an additional 56,626 shares in the last quarter. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Masco by 6.6% in the 4th quarter. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 219,120 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $17,135,000 after purchasing an additional 13,568 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in Masco by 69.1% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,544 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $112,000 after buying an additional 631 shares during the last quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC raised its position in Masco by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,016,079 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $73,737,000 after buying an additional 20,129 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. raised its position in Masco by 20.5% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 11,337 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $823,000 after buying an additional 1,931 shares during the last quarter. 93.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on MAS. Citigroup lowered their price target on Masco from $82.00 to $77.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Zelman & Associates raised Masco to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Oppenheimer raised Masco from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $89.00 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $74.00 price target on shares of Masco in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Masco from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 4th. Nine 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’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $86.32.

Masco Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of MAS opened at $69.65 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $75.87 and a 200 day moving average of $78.18. Masco Co. has a fifty-two week low of $63.81 and a fifty-two week high of $86.70. The firm has a market cap of $14.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.74, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.75.

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, topping the consensus estimate 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 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast 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. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st were paid a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.78%. This is an increase from Masco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Masco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.98%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Masco news, VP Renee Straber sold 3,139 shares of the firm’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 owns 33,027 shares in the company, valued at $2,370,678.06. This trade represents a 8.68 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Keith J. Allman sold 21,723 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,601,988.12. This represents a 26.49 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.