Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC Purchases 4,028 Shares of Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS)

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS) by 9.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 46,777 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,028 shares during the period. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Masco were worth $3,926,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Masco by 2.8% during 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 acquiring an additional 721,117 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in shares of Masco by 1.9% during the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 9,830,723 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $655,414,000 after acquiring an additional 181,515 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in shares of Masco by 0.9% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,950,880 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $241,825,000 after buying an additional 26,259 shares during the period. Impax Asset Management Group plc increased its position in shares of Masco by 10.0% during the second quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 2,855,056 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $190,347,000 after buying an additional 259,205 shares during the period. Finally, Earnest Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Masco by 16.6% during the first quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 2,245,644 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $177,136,000 after buying an additional 319,029 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 93.91% of the company’s stock.

Masco Stock Performance

Shares of MAS stock opened at $80.77 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $17.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.48, a P/E/G ratio of 2.62 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.74, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a current ratio of 1.83. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $81.76 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $74.96. Masco Co. has a 52 week low of $55.43 and a 52 week high of $86.70.

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

Masco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 25th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.44%. Masco’s dividend payout ratio is currently 30.85%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Masco news, VP Kenneth G. Cole sold 37,814 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.32, for a total value of $2,961,592.48. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 36,980 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,896,273.60. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MAS has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Masco from $80.00 to $83.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Masco from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Royal Bank of Canada cut shares of Masco from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $79.00 to $80.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Masco from $92.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Masco from $78.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $85.96.

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.