Intech Investment Management LLC Grows Stock Position in Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS)

Intech Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS) by 46.5% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 21,321 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 6,765 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Masco were worth $1,682,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Harris Associates L P raised its holdings in Masco by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. Harris Associates L P now owns 9,769,194 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $654,341,000 after buying an additional 140,334 shares during the period. Boston Partners raised its holdings in Masco by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 9,180,364 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $615,282,000 after buying an additional 159,052 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in Masco by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 5,574,976 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $373,411,000 after buying an additional 254,040 shares during the period. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd raised its holdings in Masco by 1.8% during the 4th quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 3,333,651 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $223,288,000 after buying an additional 57,395 shares during the period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in Masco by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,979,524 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $155,472,000 after buying an additional 22,167 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.91% of the company’s stock.

Masco Stock Down 1.0 %

MAS stock traded down $0.71 during trading on Friday, reaching $72.73. 4,060,237 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,002,763. Masco Co. has a 12 month low of $47.66 and a 12 month high of $78.94. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $68.52 and a 200 day simple moving average of $70.99. The company has a market capitalization of $16.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.92 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 18.76, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.74.

Masco (NYSE:MAS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The construction company reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.87 by $0.06. Masco had a return on equity of 865.37% and a net margin of 11.60%. The company had revenue of $1.93 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.94 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.87 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Masco Co. will post 4.08 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Masco Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 24th were paid a $0.29 dividend. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.59%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 23rd. Masco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.43%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on MAS. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on Masco from $75.00 to $74.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. StockNews.com downgraded Masco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Masco from $79.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Barclays cut their price objective on Masco from $87.00 to $79.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 12th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price objective on Masco from $73.00 to $66.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $72.69.

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.