Bank of Nova Scotia Lowers Holdings in Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS)

Bank of Nova Scotia trimmed its holdings in Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS – Get Rating) by 2.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 19,647 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 472 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia’s holdings in Masco were worth $917,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MAS. Boston Partners lifted its stake in Masco by 91.0% during the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 8,263,633 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $385,282,000 after purchasing an additional 3,936,601 shares in the last quarter. Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Masco by 1,031.4% in the third quarter. Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd. now owns 2,400,094 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $112,060,000 after acquiring an additional 2,187,950 shares in the last quarter. CCLA Investment Management acquired a new stake in shares of Masco in the third quarter valued at $59,680,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its stake in shares of Masco by 3,316.8% in the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 710,700 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $36,246,000 after acquiring an additional 689,900 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service raised its stake in shares of Masco by 1,069.0% in the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 424,214 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $20,057,000 after acquiring an additional 387,925 shares in the last quarter. 91.50% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Masco from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $55.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Friday, April 28th. Credit Suisse Group increased their price objective on Masco from $40.00 to $45.00 and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 10th. Bank of America cut their price target on Masco from $49.00 to $48.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 19th. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded Masco from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the company from $49.00 to $57.00 in a research note on Friday, February 10th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Masco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 11th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $58.71.

Masco Stock Down 1.8 %

NYSE MAS opened at $51.12 on Wednesday. Masco Co. has a 52-week low of $42.33 and a 52-week high of $58.18. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $50.59 and its 200 day moving average price is $50.66. The firm has a market cap of $11.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.32, a P/E/G ratio of 3.40 and a beta of 1.18.

Masco (NYSE:MAS – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 26th. The construction company reported $0.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.65 by $0.22. Masco had a negative return on equity of 237.83% and a net margin of 9.65%. The company had revenue of $1.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.91 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.95 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 10.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Masco Co. will post 3.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Masco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 26th will be issued a $0.285 dividend. This represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.23%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, May 25th. Masco’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.93%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Masco

In other Masco news, CFO John G. Sznewajs sold 20,361 shares of Masco stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.00, for a total value of $1,099,494.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 187,784 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,140,336. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CFO John G. Sznewajs sold 68,750 shares of Masco stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.09, for a total transaction of $3,718,687.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 187,784 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,157,236.56. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO John G. Sznewajs sold 20,361 shares of Masco stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.00, for a total value of $1,099,494.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 187,784 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,140,336. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 123,058 shares of company stock valued at $6,626,199. 1.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Masco

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Masco Corp. engages in the business of designing, manufacturing, and distribution of branded home improvement and building products. It operates under the Plumbing Products and Decorative Architectural Products segments. The Plumbing Products segment includes faucets, showerheads, handheld showers, valves, bath hardware and accessories, bathing units, shower bases and enclosures, shower drains, steam shower systems, sinks, kitchen accessories, and toilets.