Everence Capital Management Inc. Buys New Stake in Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS)

Everence Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 5,880 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $394,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its position in shares of Masco by 1.6% during the third quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 11,646 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $623,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares in the last quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Masco by 2.8% during the third quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 6,619 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $354,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Donald L. Hagan LLC lifted its position in shares of Masco by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Donald L. Hagan LLC now owns 21,108 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,414,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares in the last quarter. First Hawaiian Bank lifted its position in shares of Masco by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. First Hawaiian Bank now owns 15,167 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,016,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. lifted its position in shares of Masco by 2.2% during the third quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 9,240 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $494,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.91% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Truist Financial upped their target price on shares of Masco from $65.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 9th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Masco from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on shares of Masco in a report on Friday, January 19th. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Masco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Masco from $73.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $69.62.

Masco Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of MAS stock opened at $72.22 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.68, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 30.05. Masco Co. has a 1 year low of $47.66 and a 1 year high of $78.94. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $75.41 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $66.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.01, a PEG ratio of 2.25 and a beta of 1.25.

Masco (NYSE:MAS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The construction company reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.66 by $0.17. Masco had a net margin of 11.40% and a return on equity of 3,111.50%. The firm had revenue of $1.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.79 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.65 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Masco Co. will post 4.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Masco Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 22nd were given a $0.29 dividend. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 21st. This is an increase from Masco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Masco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.93%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Jai Shah sold 42,552 shares of Masco stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.36, for a total transaction of $3,249,270.72. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 15,830 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,208,778.80. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Masco news, VP Richard Allan Marshall sold 5,000 shares of Masco stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.05, for a total value of $385,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 10,465 shares in the company, valued at approximately $806,328.25. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Jai Shah sold 42,552 shares of Masco stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.36, for a total transaction of $3,249,270.72. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 15,830 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,208,778.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 83,762 shares of company stock valued at $6,337,597 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

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.