Procyon Advisors LLC Purchases New Position in Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS)

Procyon Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS) in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund acquired 9,071 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $631,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Allworth Financial LP raised its holdings in Masco by 17.3% during the fourth quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 901 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $71,000 after buying an additional 133 shares during the last quarter. Equitable Trust Co. grew its holdings in shares of Masco by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Equitable Trust Co. now owns 8,089 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $587,000 after buying an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Keybank National Association OH increased its position in shares of Masco by 3.8% during the fourth quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 4,165 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $302,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. VELA Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Masco by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. VELA Investment Management LLC now owns 7,914 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $574,000 after acquiring an additional 194 shares during the last quarter. Finally, M&T Bank Corp lifted its position in Masco by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 12,065 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $876,000 after acquiring an additional 205 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Masco

In other news, VP Renee Straber sold 3,139 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.78, for a total transaction of $225,317.42. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 33,027 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,370,678.06. This represents a 8.68% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MAS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on Masco from $72.00 to $70.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Loop Capital set a $62.00 price target on Masco and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on Masco from $82.00 to $73.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Evercore ISI cut their price objective on shares of Masco from $82.00 to $71.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Masco from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $73.63.

Masco Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:MAS opened at $63.21 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $13.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.81, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.19. The company’s 50-day moving average is $62.68 and its 200 day moving average is $71.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.74, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.75. Masco Co. has a fifty-two week low of $56.55 and a fifty-two week high of $86.70.

Masco (NYSE:MAS) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The construction company reported $0.87 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.92 by ($0.05). Masco had a net margin of 10.50% and a return on equity of 838.32%. The company had revenue of $1.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.84 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.93 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was down 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Masco Co. will post 4.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Masco Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 9th. Investors of record on Friday, May 23rd will be paid a $0.31 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 23rd. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.96%. Masco’s payout ratio is 33.88%.

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.