Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS) Shares Sold by State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D trimmed its stake in shares of Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS) by 1.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 72,608 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 808 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Masco were worth $5,269,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Masco by 1.9% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,294,294 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $864,103,000 after purchasing an additional 194,297 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in shares of Masco by 10.2% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,250,400 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $235,881,000 after purchasing an additional 299,520 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in shares of Masco by 21.0% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,997,839 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $218,063,000 after purchasing an additional 520,555 shares during the period. Empower Advisory Group LLC raised its position in shares of Masco by 1.5% during the 3rd quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 995,950 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $83,600,000 after purchasing an additional 14,870 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position in shares of Masco by 956.3% during the 3rd 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. 93.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on MAS shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Masco from $80.00 to $83.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered Masco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $96.00 to $89.00 in a report on Monday, December 16th. StockNews.com lowered Masco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Masco from $78.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Loop Capital increased their price objective on Masco from $76.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $86.32.

Masco Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MAS opened at $76.67 on Thursday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $76.27 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $78.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.74, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.75. The firm has a market cap of $16.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.39, a PEG ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 1.25. Masco Co. has a 1 year low of $63.81 and a 1 year high of $86.70.

Masco (NYSE:MAS) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 838.32% and a net margin of 10.50%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.83 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that Masco Co. will post 4.36 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be paid a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. This is a positive change from Masco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.62%. Masco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.