Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS) Shares Sold by Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. cut its position in shares of Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS) by 0.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 489,955 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 3,490 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned about 0.23% of Masco worth $35,556,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in Masco by 20.6% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 331,883 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $28,147,000 after acquiring an additional 56,626 shares during the last quarter. Seizert Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Masco by 21.7% in the third quarter. Seizert Capital Partners LLC now owns 540,437 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $45,364,000 after buying an additional 96,415 shares during the period. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Masco by 6.6% in the fourth quarter. Foster Victor Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 219,120 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $17,135,000 after buying an additional 13,568 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Masco by 69.1% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,544 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $112,000 after buying an additional 631 shares during the period. Finally, Assetmark Inc. boosted its position in shares of Masco by 139.9% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,262 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $106,000 after buying an additional 736 shares during the period. 93.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on MAS. Truist Financial upped their target price on Masco from $84.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Barclays decreased their target price on Masco from $93.00 to $84.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Citigroup decreased their target price on Masco from $82.00 to $77.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. 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. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada downgraded Masco from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and increased their price target for the company from $79.00 to $80.00 in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Masco presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $86.04.

Masco Price Performance

Shares of MAS opened at $78.76 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $16.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.95, a PEG ratio of 2.09 and a beta of 1.25. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $76.60 and a 200-day moving average of $78.72. The company has a current ratio of 1.83, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.74. Masco Co. has a 52 week low of $63.81 and a 52 week high of $86.70.

Masco (NYSE:MAS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The construction company reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.01. Masco had a return on equity of 615.54% and a net margin of 10.54%. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.83 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Masco Co. will post 4.09 EPS for the current year.

Masco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st will be given a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, February 21st. Masco’s payout ratio is 30.85%.

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.