American Century Companies Inc. Has $15.80 Million Position in Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS)

American Century Companies Inc. cut its stake in Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS) by 20.6% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 217,646 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 56,484 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc.’s holdings in Masco were worth $15,795,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Mizuho Securities USA LLC raised its position in shares of Masco by 44.5% during the fourth quarter. Mizuho Securities USA LLC now owns 20,448 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,484,000 after purchasing an additional 6,296 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP increased its holdings in shares of Masco by 40.2% in the fourth quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP now owns 11,351 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $824,000 after purchasing an additional 3,257 shares during the period. Lee Danner & Bass Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Masco during the 4th quarter worth $42,000. Blueshift Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Masco during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $309,000. Finally, iA Global Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Masco by 22.7% during the 4th quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 30,451 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,210,000 after acquiring an additional 5,643 shares during the period. 93.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Masco news, CEO Keith J. Allman sold 21,723 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.36, for a total transaction of $1,658,768.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 60,267 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,601,988.12. This represents a 26.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Renee Straber sold 3,139 shares of Masco stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.78, for a total value of $225,317.42. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 33,027 shares in the company, valued at $2,370,678.06. This represents a 8.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Masco Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of MAS opened at $69.56 on Tuesday. Masco Co. has a 1-year low of $63.81 and a 1-year high of $86.70. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.50, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a 50-day moving average of $75.06 and a 200 day moving average of $77.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.74, a current ratio of 1.75 and a quick ratio of 1.15.

Masco (NYSE:MAS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The construction company reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.01. Masco had a return on equity of 838.32% and a net margin of 10.50%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.83 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Masco Co. will post 4.34 EPS for the current year.

Masco Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st were issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, February 21st. This is a positive change from Masco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.78%. Masco’s payout ratio is 32.98%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Zelman & Associates upgraded Masco to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 17th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Masco from $85.00 to $82.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Oppenheimer upgraded shares of Masco from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $89.00 target price for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $74.00 price objective on shares of Masco in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Masco from $94.00 to $91.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $86.32.

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.