Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS) Shares Acquired by NBT Bank N A NY

NBT Bank N A NY grew its holdings in Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS) by 29.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,380 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,699 shares during the quarter. NBT Bank N A NY’s holdings in Masco were worth $536,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Masco in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. ORG Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Masco in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Masco in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new stake in shares of Masco in the third quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Masco in the third quarter valued at approximately $43,000. 93.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MAS has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of 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. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Masco from $94.00 to $91.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Masco from $85.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Oppenheimer raised shares of Masco from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $89.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Masco from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 4th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $86.32.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Keith J. Allman sold 21,723 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.36, for a total value of $1,658,768.28. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 60,267 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,601,988.12. This trade represents a 26.49 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Masco Stock Performance

Shares of MAS stock opened at $73.92 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $76.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $78.73. 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 1.75, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.74. The company has a market cap of $15.67 billion, a PE ratio of 19.66, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.24.

Masco (NYSE:MAS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The construction company reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.01. Masco had a net margin of 10.50% and a return on equity of 838.32%. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.83 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Masco Co. will post 4.34 EPS for the current year.

Masco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st were paid a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. This is an increase from Masco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Masco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 32.98%.

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.