Greenleaf Trust Sells 178 Shares of Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS)

Greenleaf Trust lessened its holdings in Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS) by 1.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 12,101 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 178 shares during the period. Greenleaf Trust’s holdings in Masco were worth $811,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MAS. Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its position in Masco by 1,906.9% during the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 16,196 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,085,000 after acquiring an additional 15,389 shares in the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Masco by 6.4% during the 4th quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 19,956 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,337,000 after purchasing an additional 1,206 shares during the last quarter. Goodman Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in Masco during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,434,000. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its holdings in Masco by 6.6% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 344,141 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $23,051,000 after purchasing an additional 21,165 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Everence Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Masco during the fourth quarter valued at about $394,000. 93.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Masco

In other news, VP Kenneth G. Cole sold 36,210 shares of Masco stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.65, for a total transaction of $2,703,076.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 58,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,395,765.25. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Masco news, VP Richard Allan Marshall sold 5,000 shares of the 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 owns 10,465 shares in the company, valued at $806,328.25. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Kenneth G. Cole sold 36,210 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 58,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,395,765.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 83,762 shares of company stock valued at $6,337,597. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Oppenheimer started coverage on shares of Masco in a research note on Friday, January 19th. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. Citigroup raised their price objective on Masco from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Truist Financial upped their target price on Masco from $65.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. StockNews.com lowered Masco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Masco from $73.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Masco presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $69.62.

Masco Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MAS opened at $71.91 on Monday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $75.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $66.43. The stock has a market cap of $15.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.93, a PEG ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 30.05. Masco Co. has a 12 month low of $47.66 and a 12 month high of $78.94.

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

Masco Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 22nd were given a dividend of $0.29 per share. This is a boost from Masco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.61%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 21st. Masco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.93%.

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.