Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund Grows Stake in Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS)

Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund lifted its stake in shares of Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS) by 95.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 12,642 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,180 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems Insurance Trust Fund’s holdings in Masco were worth $917,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 56,626 shares during the last quarter. Seizert Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Masco by 21.7% during the 3rd 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 last quarter. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 13,568 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Masco by 69.1% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,544 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $112,000 after acquiring an additional 631 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Masco by 139.9% during the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,262 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $106,000 after acquiring an additional 736 shares during the last quarter. 93.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on MAS. Oppenheimer raised shares of Masco from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $89.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Masco from $94.00 to $91.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Masco from $78.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Masco from $82.00 to $77.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of Masco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the stock from $96.00 to $89.00 in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Nine 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $86.32.

Masco Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MAS opened at $77.30 on Wednesday. Masco Co. has a 12 month low of $63.81 and a 12 month high of $86.70. The company has a current ratio of 1.83, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.74. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $76.32 and a 200-day moving average price of $78.74. The company has a market cap of $16.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.25.

Masco (NYSE:MAS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The construction company reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.01. Masco had a net margin of 10.54% and a return on equity of 615.54%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.83 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Masco Co. will post 4.09 EPS for the current year.

Masco Increases Dividend

The firm 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 $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, February 21st. This is a boost from Masco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Masco’s dividend payout ratio is 30.85%.

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.