Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS) Shares Sold by Hennessy Advisors Inc.

Hennessy Advisors Inc. trimmed its stake in Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS) by 5.4% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 36,700 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 2,100 shares during the quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Masco were worth $2,663,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp raised its stake in Masco by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,294,294 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $864,103,000 after purchasing an additional 194,297 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in shares of Masco by 21.0% in the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in shares of Masco by 0.9% in the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,950,880 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $241,825,000 after buying an additional 26,259 shares during the last quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc boosted its position in Masco by 15.7% during the second quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 1,758,889 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $117,265,000 after acquiring an additional 238,512 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Masco by 12.1% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,137,450 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $75,834,000 after acquiring an additional 122,705 shares during the period. 93.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on MAS shares. Royal Bank of Canada cut Masco from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $79.00 to $80.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Evercore ISI raised their price target on Masco from $78.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Wells Fargo & Company reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $85.00 price objective (down previously from $92.00) on shares of Masco in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Masco from $82.00 to $77.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Loop Capital upped their price target on shares of Masco from $76.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Masco has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $86.27.

Masco Price Performance

Masco stock opened at $78.29 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 1.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.82, a PEG ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 1.25. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $76.79 and a 200-day moving average of $77.54. Masco Co. has a 52-week low of $63.81 and a 52-week high of $86.70.

Masco (NYSE:MAS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The construction company reported $1.08 EPS for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.08. Masco had a return on equity of 615.54% and a net margin of 10.54%. The company had revenue of $1.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.00 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Masco Co. will post 4.09 EPS for the current year.

Masco Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were issued a $0.29 dividend. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.48%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. Masco’s dividend payout ratio is presently 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.