Masco (NYSE:MAS) Given New $74.00 Price Target at Evercore ISI

Masco (NYSE:MAS) had its price target trimmed by Evercore ISI from $75.00 to $74.00 in a research note released on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an in-line rating on the construction company’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on MAS. Oppenheimer initiated coverage on shares of Masco in a research report on Friday, January 19th. They issued a market perform rating on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Masco from $73.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. Truist Financial boosted their price target on Masco from $65.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. StockNews.com lowered Masco from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on Masco from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $71.07.

Masco Price Performance

Masco stock traded up $0.01 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $69.88. 566,697 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,063,148. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 18.76, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.74. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.13, a P/E/G ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 1.25. Masco has a 12 month low of $47.66 and a 12 month high of $78.94. The business’s 50-day moving average is $75.23 and its two-hundred day moving average is $66.76.

Masco (NYSE:MAS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The construction company reported $0.93 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.87 by $0.06. Masco had a net margin of 11.60% and a return on equity of 865.37%. The firm had revenue of $1.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.94 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.87 EPS. The company’s revenue was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Masco will post 4.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Masco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 22nd were paid a dividend of $0.29 per share. This is an increase from Masco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.66%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 21st. Masco’s payout ratio is currently 28.43%.

Insider Activity at Masco

In related news, 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 10,465 shares in the company, valued at approximately $806,328.25. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Masco news, VP Kenneth G. Cole sold 36,210 shares of the company’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 completion of 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 legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Richard Allan Marshall sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.05, for a total transaction of $385,250.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 10,465 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $806,328.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 83,762 shares of company stock worth $6,337,597 in the last ninety days. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Masco by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,787,414 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,378,337,000 after purchasing an additional 298,116 shares during the last quarter. Harris Associates L P lifted its position in shares of Masco by 1.5% in the fourth quarter. Harris Associates L P now owns 9,769,194 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $654,341,000 after buying an additional 140,334 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners grew its stake in shares of Masco by 1.8% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 9,180,364 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $615,282,000 after buying an additional 159,052 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in Masco by 4.8% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 5,574,976 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $373,411,000 after purchasing an additional 254,040 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its position in shares of Masco by 3.8% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,934,986 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $210,325,000 after acquiring an additional 145,472 shares during the period. 93.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.