Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC Decreases Stock Position in Masco Corporation $MAS

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC reduced its position in Masco Corporation (NYSE:MAS) by 61.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,521 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 20,104 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Masco were worth $806,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Masco by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 27,092,099 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,883,985,000 after acquiring an additional 984,403 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in Masco by 47.4% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,159,518 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $289,253,000 after acquiring an additional 1,337,889 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in Masco by 4.2% during the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,882,253 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $269,972,000 after buying an additional 155,351 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in Masco by 6.6% during the 2nd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,311,261 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $212,351,000 after buying an additional 206,311 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in Masco by 2.9% during the 1st quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,535,098 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $176,291,000 after buying an additional 71,881 shares during the last quarter. 93.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Masco

In other Masco news, insider Jai Shah sold 82,910 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.04, for a total value of $6,304,476.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 39,638 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,014,073.52. This represents a 67.66% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Heath M. Eisman sold 2,431 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.62, for a total value of $181,401.22. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 12,036 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $898,126.32. The trade was a 16.80% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MAS has been the subject of a number of research reports. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Masco from $85.00 to $84.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on Masco from $71.00 to $69.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Barclays reduced their price objective on Masco from $78.00 to $76.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Evercore ISI reduced their price objective on Masco from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Oppenheimer set a $79.00 price objective on Masco and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and thirteen have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $73.07.

Masco Trading Down 0.5%

NYSE:MAS opened at $64.90 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 17.53, a current ratio of 1.88 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 1.18. Masco Corporation has a one year low of $56.55 and a one year high of $83.06. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $70.91 and a 200-day moving average price of $67.08.

Masco (NYSE:MAS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 29th. The construction company reported $0.97 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.02 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $1.92 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.94 billion. Masco had a return on equity of 1,317.38% and a net margin of 10.89%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.08 earnings per share. Masco has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.900-3.95 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Masco Corporation will post 4.34 EPS for the current year.

Masco Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 24th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 7th will be paid a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 7th. Masco’s dividend payout ratio is 32.89%.

Masco 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.