Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS) Stake Reduced by Acropolis Investment Management LLC

Acropolis Investment Management LLC cut its stake in Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS) by 2.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 24,804 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 650 shares during the period. Acropolis Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Masco were worth $1,800,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MAS. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in shares of Masco by 956.3% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 989,640 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $83,070,000 after buying an additional 895,950 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its position in Masco by 21.0% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,997,839 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $218,063,000 after buying an additional 520,555 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its stake in shares of Masco by 86.5% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 634,740 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $42,318,000 after acquiring an additional 294,409 shares during the period. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Masco by 49.2% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 883,859 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $74,192,000 after acquiring an additional 291,658 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky increased its stake in shares of Masco by 89.5% during the second quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 579,597 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $38,642,000 after acquiring an additional 273,718 shares during the period. 93.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on MAS shares. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Masco from $78.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Masco from $78.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. UBS Group lifted their target price on Masco from $89.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company reiterated an “equal weight” rating and issued a $85.00 price target (down from $92.00) on shares of Masco in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered shares of Masco from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $79.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Masco currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $86.96.

Masco Stock Performance

Shares of MAS opened at $75.81 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $77.08 and a two-hundred day moving average of $77.39. The stock has a market cap of $16.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.16, a PEG ratio of 2.55 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.74, a current ratio of 1.83 and a quick ratio of 1.21. Masco Co. has a one year low of $63.81 and a one year high of $86.70.

Masco (NYSE:MAS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The construction company reported $1.08 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 the consensus estimate of $2 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.00 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Masco Co. will post 4.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Masco Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 25th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th were given a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.53%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. Masco’s payout ratio is 30.85%.

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.