Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS) Stock Position Cut by Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC

Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC decreased its stake in shares of Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS) by 49.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,199 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 14,000 shares during the period. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC’s holdings in Masco were worth $1,030,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in shares of Masco by 10.3% during the 4th quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 717,907 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $52,097,000 after purchasing an additional 67,191 shares during the period. Rafferty Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Masco by 22.3% in the fourth quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 82,814 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $6,010,000 after buying an additional 15,103 shares during the period. ProShare Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Masco by 11.8% during the fourth quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 33,889 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,459,000 after buying an additional 3,586 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its stake in Masco by 115.4% during the fourth quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 150,883 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $10,950,000 after buying an additional 80,841 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mufg Securities Americas Inc. acquired a new position in Masco during the fourth quarter worth about $231,000. 93.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Masco

In other Masco news, CEO Keith J. Allman sold 21,723 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 60,267 shares in the company, valued at $4,601,988.12. This represents a 26.49% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Renee Straber sold 3,139 shares of Masco stock in a transaction on 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 directly owns 33,027 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,370,678.06. This trade represents a 8.68% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Masco Stock Down 1.3%

MAS stock opened at $65.87 on Wednesday. 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 has a market capitalization of $13.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.52, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.23. Masco Co. has a 52-week low of $56.55 and a 52-week high of $86.70. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $64.66 and its 200-day simple moving average is $72.67.

Masco (NYSE:MAS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The construction company reported $0.87 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.92 by ($0.05). Masco had a return on equity of 838.32% and a net margin of 10.50%. The firm had revenue of $1.80 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.84 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.93 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Masco Co. will post 4.34 EPS for the current year.

Masco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 9th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 23rd will be issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.88%. Masco’s dividend payout ratio is 33.88%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MAS has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of Masco in a report on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued a “hold” rating and a $71.00 price target for the company. Loop Capital set a $62.00 target price on shares of Masco and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Evercore ISI cut their target price on shares of Masco from $82.00 to $71.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of Masco from $82.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of Masco from $64.00 to $62.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $73.63.

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.