Pegasus Partners Ltd. Makes New $209,000 Investment in Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS)

Pegasus Partners Ltd. bought a new stake in Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 2,485 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $209,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Masco during the 2nd quarter worth about $82,363,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in shares of Masco by 956.3% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 989,640 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $83,070,000 after buying an additional 895,950 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Masco by 66.5% during the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,823,934 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $121,581,000 after buying an additional 728,690 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Masco by 2.8% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,300,591 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,074,591,000 after buying an additional 721,117 shares during the period. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Masco by 55.8% in the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,538,952 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $121,391,000 after acquiring an additional 551,203 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.91% of the company’s stock.

Masco Stock Performance

MAS opened at $80.97 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $17.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.53, a P/E/G ratio of 2.60 and a beta of 1.24. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $81.74 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $74.83. Masco Co. has a 1 year low of $55.13 and a 1 year high of $86.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.74, a current ratio of 1.83 and a quick ratio of 1.21.

Masco (NYSE:MAS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The construction company reported $1.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08. Masco had a net margin of 10.54% and a return on equity of 615.54%. The company had revenue of $1.98 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.00 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Masco Co. will post 4.1 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Masco Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 25th. Investors of record on Friday, November 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 8th. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.43%. Masco’s payout ratio is presently 30.85%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MAS. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on Masco from $95.00 to $94.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Loop Capital raised their target price on Masco from $76.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Barclays upped their price target on Masco from $92.00 to $93.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Masco from $80.00 to $83.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada downgraded shares of Masco from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $79.00 to $80.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $85.96.

Insider Activity at Masco

In other news, VP Kenneth G. Cole sold 37,814 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.32, for a total transaction of $2,961,592.48. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 36,980 shares in the company, valued at $2,896,273.60. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 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.