Diversified Trust Co Trims Stock Holdings in Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS)

Diversified Trust Co lowered its stake in Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS) by 19.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 63,101 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 14,819 shares during the quarter. Diversified Trust Co’s holdings in Masco were worth $4,579,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of MAS. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Masco by 20.9% during the 2nd quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 38,501 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,567,000 after purchasing an additional 6,643 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Masco by 188.5% in the second quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,474 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $98,000 after buying an additional 963 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI raised its holdings in shares of Masco by 22.7% in the 2nd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 62,323 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $4,033,000 after buying an additional 11,525 shares during the period. Victory Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Masco by 22.9% during the 2nd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 849,161 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $56,614,000 after acquiring an additional 158,232 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its holdings in Masco by 6.9% during the 2nd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 10,622 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $708,000 after acquiring an additional 688 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.91% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on MAS. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Masco from $89.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Masco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Masco from $78.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Jefferies Financial Group cut Masco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $96.00 to $89.00 in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Masco from $92.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Masco currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $86.79.

Masco Stock Down 1.2 %

MAS stock traded down $0.88 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $72.22. 157,815 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 800,682. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.21, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.25. Masco Co. has a 52-week low of $63.81 and a 52-week high of $86.70. The company has a current ratio of 1.83, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.74. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $77.89 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $77.19.

Masco (NYSE:MAS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The construction company reported $1.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.08. Masco had a net margin of 10.54% and a return on equity of 615.54%. The business had revenue of $1.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.00 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Masco Co. will post 4.09 EPS for the current year.

Masco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th were issued a $0.29 dividend. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.61%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. Masco’s payout ratio is currently 30.85%.

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.