Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS) Shares Bought by Hills Bank & Trust Co

Hills Bank & Trust Co grew its stake in Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS) by 5.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 21,801 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,138 shares during the period. Hills Bank & Trust Co’s holdings in Masco were worth $1,582,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Masco by 20.6% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 331,883 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $28,147,000 after buying an additional 56,626 shares during the last quarter. Seizert Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in Masco by 21.7% in the third quarter. Seizert Capital Partners LLC now owns 540,437 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $45,364,000 after purchasing an additional 96,415 shares during the period. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its position in Masco by 6.6% in the fourth quarter. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 219,120 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $17,135,000 after purchasing an additional 13,568 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 631 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empower Advisory Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Masco by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,016,079 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $73,737,000 after buying an additional 20,129 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms recently weighed in on MAS. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Masco from $85.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. StockNews.com cut shares of Masco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. 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. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Masco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $96.00 to $89.00 in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Finally, UBS Group reduced 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. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $86.32.

Masco Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of MAS opened at $70.35 on Friday. 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 $14.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.74. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $76.04 and its 200 day simple moving average is $78.48.

Masco (NYSE:MAS) last announced 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 net margin of 10.50% and a return on equity of 838.32%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.83 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Masco Co. will post 4.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Masco Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st were given 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.76%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. Masco’s payout ratio is presently 32.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Masco

In other Masco news, CEO Keith J. Allman sold 21,723 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 60,267 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,601,988.12. This trade represents a 26.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Renee Straber sold 3,139 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the vice president now directly owns 33,027 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,370,678.06. This trade represents a 8.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.10% of the stock is currently 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.