Cerity Partners LLC Has $8.49 Million Stock Holdings in Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS)

Cerity Partners LLC reduced its position in Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS) by 4.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 126,710 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 5,599 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC’s holdings in Masco were worth $8,486,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in MAS. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Masco by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,787,414 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,378,337,000 after purchasing an additional 298,116 shares during the period. Boston Partners lifted its stake in Masco by 4.2% in the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 9,021,312 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $481,875,000 after buying an additional 359,562 shares during the period. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Masco by 118,819.3% during the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,978,187 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $325,672,000 after buying an additional 6,972,319 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in shares of Masco by 15.4% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 5,320,936 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $284,404,000 after buying an additional 711,988 shares during the period. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of Masco by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,934,986 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $210,325,000 after acquiring an additional 145,472 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.91% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on MAS. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Masco from $65.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. StockNews.com cut shares of Masco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Masco from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Oppenheimer started coverage on Masco in a research note on Friday, January 19th. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Masco from $73.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Masco currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $69.62.

Masco Stock Performance

Shares of MAS stock opened at $73.55 on Monday. Masco Co. has a 12 month low of $47.66 and a 12 month high of $78.94. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $75.22 and its 200-day simple moving average is $65.74. The firm has a market cap of $16.22 billion, a PE ratio of 18.34, a P/E/G ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 30.05.

Masco (NYSE:MAS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The construction company reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $1.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.79 billion. Masco had a net margin of 11.40% and a return on equity of 3,111.50%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.65 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Masco Co. will post 4.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Masco Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 22nd were given a dividend of $0.29 per share. This is a positive change from Masco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 21st. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.58%. Masco’s payout ratio is 28.93%.

Insider Transactions at Masco

In other news, VP Richard Allan Marshall sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.05, for a total transaction of $385,250.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 10,465 shares in the company, valued at approximately $806,328.25. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, VP Richard Allan Marshall sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.05, for a total transaction of $385,250.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 10,465 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $806,328.25. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, VP Kenneth G. Cole sold 36,210 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.65, for a total value of $2,703,076.50. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 58,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,395,765.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 83,762 shares of company stock worth $6,337,597 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

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.