934,756 Masco Corporation $MAS Shares Sold by Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A.

Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A. cut its position in shares of Masco Corporation (NYSE:MAS) by 58.0% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 678,267 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 934,756 shares during the quarter. Eurizon Capital SGR S.p.A.’s holdings in Masco were worth $45,726,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Childress Capital Advisors LLC raised its position in Masco by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. Childress Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,181 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $214,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares during the period. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Masco by 1.4% during the third quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 11,275 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $760,000 after buying an additional 151 shares during the period. Steph & Co. boosted its position in shares of Masco by 6.6% during the third quarter. Steph & Co. now owns 2,465 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $166,000 after buying an additional 152 shares during the period. Interchange Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Masco by 3.2% during the third quarter. Interchange Capital Partners LLC now owns 5,443 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $367,000 after buying an additional 169 shares during the period. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Masco by 9.0% during the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 2,420 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $146,000 after buying an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. 93.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

MAS has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Barclays increased their price target on Masco from $79.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 29th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $90.00 target price (up from $88.00) on shares of Masco in a research report on Wednesday, October 28th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Masco from $82.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 29th. Evercore cut shares of Masco from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and set a $78.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Zacks Research downgraded shares of Masco from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 14th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $81.82.

Masco Stock Up 0.3%

NYSE:MAS opened at $84.72 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 109.07, a current ratio of 1.83 and a quick ratio of 1.20. Masco Corporation has a 1-year low of $58.16 and a 1-year high of $87.86. The company has a 50-day moving average of $73.65 and a 200 day moving average of $71.62. The firm has a market cap of $16.33 billion, a PE ratio of 18.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 1.21.

Masco (NYSE:MAS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 28th. The construction company reported $1.19 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.02 by $0.17. Masco had a net margin of 12.07% and a negative return on equity of 1,807.69%. The business had revenue of $1.97 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.93 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.97 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Masco Corporation will post 4.72 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Masco Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, November 23rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.32 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, November 6th. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. Masco’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.71%.

Insider Transactions at Masco

In other news, VP Kenneth Cole sold 34,470 shares of Masco stock in a transaction on Friday, October 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.64, for a total value of $2,779,660.80. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 39,700 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,201,408. This trade represents a 46.47% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.55% of the company’s stock.

Masco Company Profile

Masco Corporation is a manufacturer of home improvement and building products, serving residential construction, repair and remodeling markets. Its products are sold primarily in North America and Europe, as well as in other markets around the world. The company’s Plumbing Products include faucets, showering and bathing products, and related fixtures and accessories. Its brands include Delta Faucet, Brizo, Peerless and hansgrohe. Masco also makes decorative architectural products, including paints and coatings sold under the BEHR and KILZ brands.