Atlanta Consulting Group Advisors LLC Has $1.80 Million Position in Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS)

Atlanta Consulting Group Advisors LLC lessened its stake in shares of Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS) by 0.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 24,785 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 197 shares during the period. Masco accounts for about 0.7% of Atlanta Consulting Group Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position. Atlanta Consulting Group Advisors LLC’s holdings in Masco were worth $1,799,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Metis Global Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Masco by 1.9% during the third quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 7,031 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $590,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP lifted its holdings in Masco by 17.3% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 901 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $71,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. Equitable Trust Co. lifted its holdings in Masco by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 8,089 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $587,000 after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Empirical Finance LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Masco by 1.8% in the third quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 7,917 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $665,000 after buying an additional 137 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tealwood Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Masco by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Tealwood Asset Management Inc. now owns 17,921 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,301,000 after buying an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.91% of the company’s stock.

Masco Stock Up 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE MAS opened at $70.35 on Monday. Masco Co. has a one year low of $63.81 and a one year high of $86.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.74, a current ratio of 1.75 and a quick ratio of 1.15. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $76.04 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $78.47. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.71, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.24.

Masco (NYSE:MAS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The construction company reported $0.89 EPS 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 company earned $0.83 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Masco Co. will post 4.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Masco Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st were paid a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.76%. This is an increase from Masco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. Masco’s payout ratio is presently 32.98%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Keith J. Allman sold 21,723 shares of Masco stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 60,267 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,601,988.12. The trade was a 26.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Renee Straber sold 3,139 shares of Masco stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.78, for a total transaction of $225,317.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 33,027 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,370,678.06. The trade was 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 owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on MAS. Oppenheimer raised shares of Masco from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $89.00 price target on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Masco from $84.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. 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 report on Monday, December 16th. UBS Group lowered 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $74.00 price target on shares of Masco in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Nine research 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, Masco presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $86.32.

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.