Private Trust Co. NA Has $212,000 Stock Holdings in Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS)

Private Trust Co. NA increased its holdings in shares of Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS) by 11.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,160 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 317 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA’s holdings in Masco were worth $212,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in MAS. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Masco by 118,819.3% in the 4th quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,978,187 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $325,672,000 after purchasing an additional 6,972,319 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Masco in the 4th quarter worth approximately $69,716,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Masco in the 1st quarter worth approximately $44,883,000. Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its position in shares of Masco by 209.6% in the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 1,251,223 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $71,795,000 after purchasing an additional 847,062 shares during the period. Finally, Harris Associates L P lifted its position in shares of Masco by 8.7% in the 2nd quarter. Harris Associates L P now owns 9,728,394 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $558,215,000 after purchasing an additional 781,049 shares during the period. 93.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MAS has been the subject of several research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Masco from $66.00 to $73.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 14th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Masco from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on shares of Masco in a research note on Friday, January 19th. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. StockNews.com lowered shares of Masco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Masco from $73.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Masco has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $69.62.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Masco news, VP Kenneth G. Cole sold 36,210 shares of Masco stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.65, for a total transaction of $2,703,076.50. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 58,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,395,765.25. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, VP Kenneth G. Cole sold 36,210 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.65, for a total value of $2,703,076.50. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 58,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,395,765.25. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Richard Allan Marshall sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.05, for a total transaction of $385,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 10,465 shares in the company, valued at $806,328.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 83,762 shares of company stock valued at $6,337,597 in the last three months. 1.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Masco Stock Performance

Shares of MAS stock opened at $77.12 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 30.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.01 billion, a PE ratio of 19.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 1.25. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $74.73 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $65.14. Masco Co. has a 12 month low of $46.77 and a 12 month high of $78.94.

Masco (NYSE:MAS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The construction company reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $1.88 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.79 billion. Masco had a net margin of 11.40% and a return on equity of 3,111.50%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.65 EPS. Analysts forecast that Masco Co. will post 4.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Masco Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 22nd were issued a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.50%. This is an increase from Masco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 21st. Masco’s payout ratio is currently 28.93%.

Masco 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.