Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS) Shares Sold by Foster & Motley Inc.

Foster & Motley Inc. lessened its holdings in Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS) by 1.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 14,229 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 145 shares during the quarter. Foster & Motley Inc.’s holdings in Masco were worth $949,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Masco in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $122,144,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Masco during the 2nd quarter worth $82,363,000. Confluence Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Masco in the 1st quarter valued at about $78,181,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Masco by 2.8% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,300,591 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,074,591,000 after purchasing an additional 721,117 shares during the period. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Masco by 55.8% during the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,538,952 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $121,391,000 after buying an additional 551,203 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.91% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MAS. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Masco from $79.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Masco from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Citigroup lowered their target price on Masco from $73.00 to $66.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Masco from $78.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Masco from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Masco currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $77.58.

Masco Price Performance

NYSE:MAS opened at $77.24 on Friday. Masco Co. has a 12-month low of $47.66 and a 12-month high of $81.91. The firm has a market cap of $17.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.50 and a beta of 1.24. The company’s 50-day moving average is $73.69 and its two-hundred day moving average is $72.76. The company has a current ratio of 1.76, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.18.

Masco (NYSE:MAS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 25th. The construction company reported $1.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.18 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $2.09 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.10 billion. Masco had a net margin of 11.59% and a return on equity of 602.39%. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.19 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Masco Co. will post 4.11 EPS for the current year.

Masco Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 19th. Investors of record on Friday, August 2nd were paid a $0.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 2nd. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.50%. Masco’s payout ratio is currently 28.43%.

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.