Masco (NYSE:MAS) Given New $65.00 Price Target at Wells Fargo & Company

Masco (NYSE:MAS) had its price target decreased by Wells Fargo & Company from $82.00 to $65.00 in a research report report published on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an equal weight rating on the construction company’s stock.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the company. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Masco from $85.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Masco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $96.00 to $89.00 in a research report on Monday, December 16th. UBS Group lowered their target price on Masco from $94.00 to $91.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Barclays cut their price target on Masco from $87.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised Masco from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $89.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $83.37.

Masco Trading Up 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:MAS opened at $62.30 on Monday. Masco has a 52-week low of $57.27 and a 52-week high of $86.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.74, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.75. The company has a market cap of $13.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.24. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $71.23 and its 200-day moving average is $76.30.

Masco (NYSE:MAS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The construction company reported $0.89 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.01. Masco had a return on equity of 838.32% and a net margin of 10.50%. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.83 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Masco will post 4.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Masco Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, February 21st were given a dividend of $0.31 per share. This is a positive change from Masco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.99%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. Masco’s dividend payout ratio is 32.98%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Keith J. Allman sold 21,723 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.36, for a total transaction of $1,658,768.28. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 60,267 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,601,988.12. The trade was a 26.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Renee Straber sold 3,139 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.78, for a total value of $225,317.42. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 33,027 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,370,678.06. This represents a 8.68 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Masco by 49.2% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 883,859 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $74,192,000 after acquiring an additional 291,658 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp increased its position in Masco by 7.3% in the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 11,860 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $996,000 after acquiring an additional 808 shares during the period. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Masco by 18.0% in the third quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,914 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $326,000 after acquiring an additional 597 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Masco during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $448,000. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Masco during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $201,000. 93.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.