Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS) Shares Purchased by Quadrature Capital Ltd

Quadrature Capital Ltd increased its stake in shares of Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS) by 148.3% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 25,938 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 15,493 shares during the period. Quadrature Capital Ltd’s holdings in Masco were worth $1,737,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of MAS. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Masco during the 4th quarter worth approximately $122,144,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Masco by 1,307.8% during the 3rd quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 686,794 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $36,708,000 after purchasing an additional 638,010 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Masco by 443.5% during the 3rd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 502,157 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $26,829,000 after purchasing an additional 409,767 shares during the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd increased its holdings in Masco by 87.3% during the 3rd quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 815,888 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $43,609,000 after purchasing an additional 380,267 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in Masco by 15.4% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,561,153 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $136,894,000 after purchasing an additional 342,476 shares during the last quarter. 93.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Masco Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of MAS stock opened at $69.39 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 18.76, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a current ratio of 1.74. Masco Co. has a 1 year low of $47.66 and a 1 year high of $78.94. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $70.17 and a two-hundred day moving average of $70.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.28 billion, a PE ratio of 17.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.82 and a beta of 1.27.

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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.87 by $0.06. Masco had a return on equity of 865.37% and a net margin of 11.60%. The company had revenue of $1.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.94 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.87 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 2.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Masco Co. will post 4.11 EPS for the current year.

Masco Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, May 24th were issued a $0.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 23rd. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.67%. Masco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.43%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Masco from $79.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. StockNews.com downgraded Masco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, May 3rd. Evercore ISI lowered their price target on Masco from $75.00 to $74.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Loop Capital lowered their price target on Masco from $79.00 to $76.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on Masco from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $72.15.

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.