Wedge Capital Management L L P NC Reduces Stake in Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS)

Wedge Capital Management L L P NC cut its stake in shares of Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS) by 14.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 191,851 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 33,317 shares during the period. Wedge Capital Management L L P NC owned 0.09% of Masco worth $12,850,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Masco by 35.3% in the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 59,792 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $4,005,000 after purchasing an additional 15,591 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System raised its stake in Masco by 8.6% during the 4th quarter. New York State Teachers Retirement System now owns 229,507 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $15,372,000 after buying an additional 18,140 shares during the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management boosted its position in Masco by 264.5% in the fourth quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 18,219 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,220,000 after purchasing an additional 13,221 shares during the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its stake in shares of Masco by 6.6% during the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 344,141 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $23,051,000 after acquiring an additional 21,165 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. bought a new stake in Masco during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,606,000. 93.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Masco

In other news, VP Kenneth G. Cole sold 36,210 shares of Masco stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was 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 in the company, valued at approximately $4,395,765.25. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, VP Kenneth G. Cole sold 36,210 shares of Masco stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.65, for a total transaction of $2,703,076.50. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 58,885 shares in the company, valued at $4,395,765.25. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Jai Shah sold 42,552 shares of Masco stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the insider now directly 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 have sold 83,762 shares of company stock valued at $6,337,597 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Masco Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:MAS traded up $0.71 on Tuesday, reaching $72.73. 131,199 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,008,850. The company has a quick ratio of 1.08, a current ratio of 1.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 30.05. The business’s 50-day moving average is $75.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $66.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.95, a PEG ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.25. Masco Co. has a fifty-two week low of $47.66 and a fifty-two week high of $78.94.

Masco (NYSE:MAS) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The construction company reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.17. Masco had a return on equity of 3,111.50% and a net margin of 11.40%. The firm had revenue of $1.88 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.79 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.65 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 2.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Masco Co. will post 4.11 EPS for the current year.

Masco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 22nd were given a $0.29 dividend. This is a boost from Masco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.59%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 21st. Masco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.93%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on MAS. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Masco from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Masco from $73.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Oppenheimer assumed coverage on shares of Masco in a report on Friday, January 19th. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. Truist Financial lifted their price target on shares of Masco from $65.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Masco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $69.62.

Masco Company 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.