Signaturefd LLC Boosts Position in Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS)

Signaturefd LLC grew its position in Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS) by 32.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,594 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 876 shares during the quarter. Signaturefd LLC’s holdings in Masco were worth $261,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Masco by 20.6% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 331,883 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $28,147,000 after acquiring an additional 56,626 shares during the last quarter. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Masco by 6.6% during 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 during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake 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 in the last quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC grew its holdings in Masco by 2.0% during 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. increased its position in Masco by 20.5% during the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 11,337 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $823,000 after buying an additional 1,931 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms recently commented on MAS. Zelman & Associates upgraded Masco to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. UBS Group cut their price objective on shares of Masco from $94.00 to $91.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Masco from $84.00 to $87.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Masco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the stock from $96.00 to $89.00 in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Masco from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $86.32.

Masco Stock Performance

NYSE:MAS opened at $69.65 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $75.87 and its 200 day simple moving average is $78.18. The company has a current ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 1.15 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. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.52, 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 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 in the previous year, the firm earned $0.83 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect 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 paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.78%. This is a positive change from Masco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Masco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.98%.

Insider Transactions at Masco

In other news, VP Renee Straber sold 3,139 shares of Masco stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.78, for a total transaction of $225,317.42. Following the sale, 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Keith J. Allman sold 21,723 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 60,267 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,601,988.12. This represents a 26.49 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

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.