Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS) Stake Raised by Teacher Retirement System of Texas

Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its holdings in shares of Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS) by 49.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 676,356 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 223,212 shares during the quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas owned approximately 0.31% of Masco worth $49,083,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Masco in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Masco in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Masco during the fourth quarter worth $30,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its position in Masco by 26.7% during the fourth quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 703 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 148 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SRS Capital Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Masco by 74.3% in the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 774 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 330 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.91% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Zelman & Associates upgraded Masco to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $74.00 target price on shares of Masco in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. UBS Group reduced their price objective 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. Oppenheimer raised shares of Masco from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $89.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Masco from $85.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. 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, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $86.32.

Masco Stock Down 1.7 %

MAS opened at $70.42 on Friday. Masco Co. has a 1-year low of $63.81 and a 1-year high of $86.70. The business has a 50 day moving average of $75.92 and a 200-day moving average of $78.25. The stock has a market capitalization of $14.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.73, a P/E/G 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.

Masco (NYSE:MAS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The construction company reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 last year, the business posted $0.83 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Masco Co. will post 4.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Masco Increases Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Keith J. Allman sold 21,723 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 60,267 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,601,988.12. This represents a 26.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Renee Straber sold 3,139 shares of Masco stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.78, for a total transaction of $225,317.42. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 33,027 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

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.