Prudential PLC Sells 2,753 Shares of Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS)

Prudential PLC cut its position in Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS) by 3.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 80,579 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 2,753 shares during the period. Prudential PLC’s holdings in Masco were worth $5,848,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. World Investment Advisors lifted its position in Masco by 111.9% in the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 5,068 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $368,000 after acquiring an additional 2,676 shares in the last quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Masco by 7.9% during the fourth quarter. Nicolet Advisory Services LLC now owns 17,955 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,295,000 after buying an additional 1,307 shares during the last quarter. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC bought a new stake in Masco in the 4th quarter worth about $686,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Masco by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 5,129,771 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $371,265,000 after buying an additional 58,739 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in Masco by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 348,847 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $25,316,000 after acquiring an additional 16,964 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other Masco news, CEO Keith J. Allman sold 21,723 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.36, for a total transaction of $1,658,768.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 60,267 shares in the company, valued at $4,601,988.12. This trade represents a 26.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Renee Straber sold 3,139 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the vice president now directly owns 33,027 shares in the company, valued at $2,370,678.06. The trade was a 8.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays upped 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. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Masco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $96.00 to $89.00 in a report on Monday, December 16th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of Masco in a research report on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued a “hold” rating and a $71.00 price target on the stock. Zelman & Associates raised shares of Masco to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised Masco from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $89.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $85.30.

Masco Trading Down 2.0 %

Masco stock opened at $62.85 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.74, a current ratio of 1.75 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $74.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $77.48. Masco Co. has a 1 year low of $60.29 and a 1 year high of $86.70. The stock has a market cap of $13.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.72, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.24.

Masco (NYSE:MAS) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 quarter last year, the business earned $0.83 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Masco Co. will post 4.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Masco Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st were issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.97%. This is a boost from Masco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. Masco’s dividend payout ratio is 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.