Kentucky Retirement Systems Sells 206 Shares of Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS)

Kentucky Retirement Systems reduced its holdings in shares of Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS) by 1.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,998 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 206 shares during the quarter. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Masco were worth $1,088,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of MAS. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 56,626 shares during the period. Seizert Capital Partners LLC raised 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 worth $45,364,000 after acquiring an additional 96,415 shares during the period. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 13,568 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in Masco by 69.1% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,544 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $112,000 after acquiring an additional 631 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empower Advisory Group LLC grew its position 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 valued at $73,737,000 after acquiring an additional 20,129 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.91% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MAS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Masco from $82.00 to $77.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com cut Masco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $74.00 price objective on shares of Masco in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Masco from $78.00 to $82.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of Masco from $95.00 to $94.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Masco has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $86.32.

Masco Price Performance

Masco stock opened at $74.82 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $15.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.90, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a quick ratio of 1.15, a current ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.74. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $76.13 and a 200 day simple moving average of $78.80. Masco Co. has a 52 week low of $63.81 and a 52 week high of $86.70.

Masco (NYSE:MAS) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 10.50% and a return on equity of 838.32%. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.83 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Masco Co. will post 4.34 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Masco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be 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 yield of 1.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. Masco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 30.85%.

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.