Masco Corporation $MAS Stake Lessened by J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG

J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG lessened its stake in shares of Masco Corporation (NYSE:MAS) by 25.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 59,575 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 19,863 shares during the quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG’s holdings in Masco were worth $3,834,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Masco by 120.2% during the 1st quarter. Global X Japan Co. Ltd. now owns 381 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 208 shares in the last quarter. Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Masco in the first quarter valued at $29,000. Costello Asset Management INC bought a new position in Masco during the first quarter valued at about $31,000. Migdal Insurance & Financial Holdings Ltd. bought a new stake in Masco in the first quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Steph & Co. acquired a new stake in Masco in the 2nd quarter valued at about $39,000. Institutional investors own 93.91% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MAS has been the topic of several recent research reports. Oppenheimer set a $79.00 price objective on shares of Masco and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Masco from $65.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. Baird R W downgraded Masco from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Masco from $73.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 11th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered Masco from an “outperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $70.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $74.60.

Masco Stock Performance

Shares of Masco stock opened at $70.94 on Friday. Masco Corporation has a 12 month low of $56.55 and a 12 month high of $86.70. The company has a quick ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 1.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 19.63. The stock has a market cap of $14.85 billion, a PE ratio of 18.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 1.18. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $71.88 and a 200-day simple moving average of $66.90.

Masco (NYSE:MAS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The construction company reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $2.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2 billion. Masco had a return on equity of 1,519.31% and a net margin of 10.51%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 1.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.20 EPS. Masco has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.900-4.100 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Masco Corporation will post 4.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Masco Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 8th were paid a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 8th. Masco’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.89%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Heath M. Eisman sold 2,431 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.62, for a total value of $181,401.22. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 12,036 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $898,126.32. This represents a 16.80% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Jai Shah sold 82,910 shares of Masco stock in a transaction on Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.04, for a total value of $6,304,476.40. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 39,638 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,014,073.52. The trade was a 67.66% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.