First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. Has $1.92 Million Position in Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS)

First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. decreased its holdings in shares of Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS) by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 22,827 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 549 shares during the quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co.’s holdings in Masco were worth $1,916,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Masco by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,300,591 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,074,591,000 after buying an additional 721,117 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in 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 worth $655,414,000 after acquiring an additional 181,515 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Masco by 0.3% during the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,924,621 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $194,985,000 after acquiring an additional 9,094 shares during the period. Impax Asset Management Group plc grew its position in shares of Masco by 10.0% in the second quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 2,855,056 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $190,347,000 after purchasing an additional 259,205 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Earnest Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Masco by 16.6% during the 1st quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 2,245,644 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $177,136,000 after purchasing an additional 319,029 shares during the last quarter. 93.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Masco Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of MAS opened at $85.71 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.18, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.76. Masco Co. has a 52-week low of $47.66 and a 52-week high of $86.70. The firm has a market cap of $18.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.01, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.24. The business’s fifty day moving average is $80.57 and its 200-day moving average is $74.10.

Masco (NYSE:MAS) last released its earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The construction company reported $1.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.18 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $2.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.10 billion. Masco had a return on equity of 602.39% and a net margin of 11.59%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.19 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Masco Co. will post 4.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Masco Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 19th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 2nd were given a $0.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 2nd. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.35%. Masco’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.43%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on MAS. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Masco from $78.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Masco from $88.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. StockNews.com cut shares of Masco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 8th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Masco from $90.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Masco from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $80.58.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Kenneth G. Cole sold 37,814 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was 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 directly owns 36,980 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,896,273.60. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

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.