Swiss National Bank Buys 34,700 Shares of Masco Corporation $MAS

Swiss National Bank lifted its stake in shares of Masco Corporation (NYSE:MAS) by 6.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 609,600 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 34,700 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned about 0.30% of Masco worth $36,802,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of MAS. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Masco during the fourth quarter worth approximately $194,818,000. Wellington Management Group LLP bought a new stake in Masco in the 3rd quarter valued at $192,948,000. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. grew its holdings in Masco by 443.6% in the 3rd quarter. Jacobs Levy Equity Management Inc. now owns 2,330,523 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $164,046,000 after buying an additional 1,901,815 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its holdings in Masco by 234.5% in the 4th quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 1,624,841 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $103,112,000 after buying an additional 1,139,098 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in Masco by 19.2% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,063,286 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $384,776,000 after buying an additional 977,684 shares during the period. 93.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on MAS shares. Zacks Research raised shares of Masco from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Evercore raised shares of Masco from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $78.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Masco from $85.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 22nd. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Masco from $69.00 to $61.00 and set an “underperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Masco from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 23rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Masco currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $80.67.

Masco Stock Up 1.6%

MAS stock opened at $78.08 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $15.75 billion, a PE ratio of 19.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.89 and a beta of 1.29. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $73.94 and a 200 day simple moving average of $69.86. Masco Corporation has a 52 week low of $58.16 and a 52 week high of $83.21. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 109.07.

Masco (NYSE:MAS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The construction company reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.16. Masco had a net margin of 10.90% and a return on equity of 815.20%. The firm had revenue of $1.92 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.07 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.87 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Masco Corporation will post 4.25 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Masco Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 8th. Investors of record on Friday, May 22nd were paid a $0.32 dividend. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, May 22nd. Masco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 31.76%.

Masco announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Thursday, May 7th that allows the company to repurchase $300.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the construction company to buy up to 2.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

About Masco

Masco Corporation is a global leader in the design, manufacture and distribution of branded home improvement and building products. Founded in 1929 and headquartered in Livonia, Michigan, the company has evolved from a small door‐bell manufacturer into a diversified enterprise serving both residential and commercial markets. Over its history, Masco has grown through a combination of organic innovation and strategic acquisitions, building a portfolio of well-recognized brands.

The company’s product offerings are organized into two primary segments.