Citizens & Northern Corp Increases Stake in Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS)

Citizens & Northern Corp boosted its stake in shares of Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS) by 3.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 21,318 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 798 shares during the period. Citizens & Northern Corp’s holdings in Masco were worth $1,547,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of MAS. State Street Corp increased its position in shares of Masco by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,294,294 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $864,103,000 after acquiring an additional 194,297 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in Masco by 10.2% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,250,400 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $235,881,000 after purchasing an additional 299,520 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in shares of Masco by 21.0% in the fourth 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. Empower Advisory Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Masco by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,016,079 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $73,737,000 after purchasing an additional 20,129 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Masco by 956.3% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 989,640 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $83,070,000 after purchasing an additional 895,950 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.91% of the company’s stock.

Masco Stock Performance

NYSE MAS opened at $78.42 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.86, a PEG ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.25. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $76.37 and a 200 day moving average of $78.73. The company has a current ratio of 1.83, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.74. Masco Co. has a twelve month low of $63.81 and a twelve month high of $86.70.

Masco (NYSE:MAS) last announced its earnings results 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 615.54% and a net margin of 10.54%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.83 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Masco Co. will post 4.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Masco Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.58%. This is an increase from Masco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. Masco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.85%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MAS has been the topic of several research reports. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated a “sector perform” rating and issued a $74.00 price target on shares of Masco in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Loop Capital increased their price objective on shares of Masco from $76.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Masco from $80.00 to $83.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Masco from $94.00 to $91.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, 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 note on Thursday, February 13th. Nine investment 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 MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $86.32.

About Masco

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.