Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Buys 4,979 Shares of Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its holdings in Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS – Get Rating) by 49.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 15,033 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 4,979 shares during the quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Masco were worth $704,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Boston Partners increased its stake in shares of Masco by 21.6% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 10,050,031 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $471,236,000 after buying an additional 1,786,398 shares in the last quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd increased its stake in shares of Masco by 1.4% in the third quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 4,939,950 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $230,646,000 after buying an additional 69,486 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in shares of Masco by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,652,241 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $170,451,000 after buying an additional 68,981 shares in the last quarter. Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Masco by 1,031.4% in the third quarter. Beutel Goodman & Co Ltd. now owns 2,400,094 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $112,060,000 after buying an additional 2,187,950 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Impax Asset Management Group plc increased its stake in shares of Masco by 0.6% in the third quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 2,390,594 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $111,617,000 after buying an additional 13,584 shares in the last quarter. 91.50% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on MAS shares. Bank of America lowered their target price on Masco from $49.00 to $48.00 and set an “underperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 19th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Masco from $59.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 10th. KeyCorp lowered their price objective on Masco from $66.00 to $62.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 10th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Masco from $62.00 to $64.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 27th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Masco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 11th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Masco has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $58.71.

Insider Buying and Selling at Masco

In other Masco news, CFO John G. Sznewajs sold 20,361 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.00, for a total value of $1,099,494.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 187,784 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,140,336. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Masco news, CEO Keith J. Allman sold 33,947 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.26, for a total value of $1,808,017.22. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 200,305 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,668,244.30. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO John G. Sznewajs sold 20,361 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.00, for a total value of $1,099,494.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 187,784 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,140,336. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 123,058 shares of company stock worth $6,626,199. Corporate insiders own 1.50% of the company’s stock.

Masco Price Performance

NYSE:MAS opened at $50.28 on Thursday. Masco Co. has a fifty-two week low of $42.33 and a fifty-two week high of $58.18. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.32 billion, a PE ratio of 14.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.40 and a beta of 1.18. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $50.59 and its 200-day simple moving average is $50.65.

Masco (NYSE:MAS – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 26th. The construction company reported $0.87 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.22. Masco had a negative return on equity of 237.83% and a net margin of 9.65%. The business had revenue of $1.98 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.91 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.95 EPS. Masco’s revenue for the quarter was down 10.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts expect that Masco Co. will post 3.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Masco Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 12th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 26th will be paid a $0.285 dividend. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.27%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, May 25th. Masco’s payout ratio is 31.93%.

Masco Company Profile

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Masco Corp. engages in the business of designing, manufacturing, and distribution of branded home improvement and building products. It operates under the Plumbing Products and Decorative Architectural Products segments. The Plumbing Products segment includes faucets, showerheads, handheld showers, valves, bath hardware and accessories, bathing units, shower bases and enclosures, shower drains, steam shower systems, sinks, kitchen accessories, and toilets.