Nicolet Bankshares Inc. Buys 4,024 Shares of Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS)

Nicolet Bankshares Inc. grew its stake in Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS) by 110.9% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 7,653 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,024 shares during the period. Nicolet Bankshares Inc.’s holdings in Masco were worth $555,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. boosted its position in shares of Masco by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. Rockefeller Capital Management L.P. now owns 17,631 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,281,000 after purchasing an additional 749 shares in the last quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Masco by 52.7% during the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 12,809 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $930,000 after acquiring an additional 4,418 shares in the last quarter. Paralel Advisors LLC grew its stake in Masco by 10.0% in the fourth quarter. Paralel Advisors LLC now owns 31,818 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,309,000 after acquiring an additional 2,888 shares during the period. Neuberger Berman Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Masco by 4.2% in the fourth quarter. Neuberger Berman Group LLC now owns 79,520 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $5,771,000 after acquiring an additional 3,187 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Masco during the fourth quarter worth about $33,157,000. 93.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on Masco in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued a “hold” rating and a $71.00 price objective for the company. 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. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Masco from $94.00 to $91.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Royal Bank of Canada restated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $74.00 price target on shares of Masco in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut Masco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the stock from $96.00 to $89.00 in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $84.50.

Insider Buying and Selling at Masco

In related news, CEO Keith J. Allman sold 21,723 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 approximately $4,601,988.12. The trade was a 26.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 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 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 $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. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Masco Stock Performance

Shares of MAS opened at $61.86 on Friday. Masco Co. has a one year low of $57.27 and a one year high of $86.70. The company has a market cap of $13.09 billion, a PE ratio of 16.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.24. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $71.54 and a 200-day moving average of $76.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.74, a current ratio of 1.75 and a quick ratio of 1.15.

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. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Masco Co. will post 4.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Masco Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 a boost from Masco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.00%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. Masco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.98%.

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.