Lord Abbett & CO. LLC Decreases Stake in Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS)

Lord Abbett & CO. LLC cut its position in Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS) by 15.4% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 746,814 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 135,710 shares during the quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC’s holdings in Masco were worth $54,196,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in Masco by 49.2% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 883,859 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $74,192,000 after buying an additional 291,658 shares during the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Masco during the third quarter worth approximately $448,000. World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Masco in the third quarter valued at approximately $201,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new position in Masco in the third quarter valued at approximately $206,000. Finally, Synovus Financial Corp raised its holdings in Masco by 1.3% during the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 28,725 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,411,000 after purchasing an additional 364 shares in the last quarter. 93.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Masco Price Performance

Masco stock opened at $60.41 on Friday. 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 business has a 50 day simple moving average of $68.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $75.00. Masco Co. has a 12 month low of $56.55 and a 12 month high of $86.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.79 billion, a PE ratio of 16.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.24.

Masco (NYSE:MAS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The construction company reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.92 by ($0.05). The firm had revenue of $1.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.84 billion. Masco had a return on equity of 838.32% and a net margin of 10.50%. Equities analysts predict that Masco Co. will post 4.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Masco Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st were given a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.05%. This is an increase from Masco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Masco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 32.98%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Masco news, VP Renee Straber sold 3,139 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.78, for a total value of $225,317.42. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 33,027 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,370,678.06. This trade represents a 8.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Keith J. Allman sold 21,723 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.36, for a total transaction of $1,658,768.28. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 60,267 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,601,988.12. This trade represents a 26.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on MAS shares. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of Masco from $82.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Oppenheimer raised Masco from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $89.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Zelman & Associates raised Masco to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on Masco from $72.00 to $70.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Truist Financial cut their price target on Masco from $92.00 to $75.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $73.10.

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.