New Mexico Educational Retirement Board Sells 1,200 Shares of Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS)

New Mexico Educational Retirement Board lessened its stake in Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS – Get Rating) by 7.9% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 13,921 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 1,200 shares during the quarter. New Mexico Educational Retirement Board’s holdings in Masco were worth $710,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Confluence Wealth Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Masco in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Steph & Co. bought a new position in shares of Masco in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Old North State Trust LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Masco by 194.7% in the fourth quarter. Old North State Trust LLC now owns 896 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $63,000 after purchasing an additional 592 shares in the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Masco during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $71,000. Finally, Islay Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Masco during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $149,000. Institutional investors own 93.76% of the company’s stock.

Shares of NYSE MAS opened at $47.33 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $11.17 billion, a PE ratio of 20.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.23. Masco Co. has a fifty-two week low of $46.27 and a fifty-two week high of $71.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 52.66, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.60. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $53.44 and a 200-day moving average of $58.08.

Masco (NYSE:MAS – Get Rating) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 27th. The construction company reported $0.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.88 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $2.20 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.06 billion. Masco had a return on equity of 3,870.83% and a net margin of 6.38%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 11.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.89 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Masco Co. will post 4.25 EPS for the current year.

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 13th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 27th were given a $0.28 dividend. This represents a $1.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.37%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 26th. Masco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.34%.

In related news, CEO Keith J. Allman sold 10,000 shares of Masco stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.88, for a total transaction of $498,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 298,295 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $14,878,954.60. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Charles K. Stevens III sold 7,000 shares of Masco stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.38, for a total value of $394,660.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 10,160 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $572,820.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.20% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

A number of analysts recently commented on MAS shares. StockNews.com downgraded Masco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Masco from $68.00 to $72.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on Masco from $60.00 to $54.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 20th. Barclays decreased their price target on Masco from $75.00 to $68.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 31st. Finally, Bank of America downgraded Masco from a “neutral” rating to an “underperform” rating and decreased their target price for the stock from $75.00 to $55.00 in a research report on Monday, April 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $65.33.

About Masco (Get Rating)

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.

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