Nomura Holdings Inc. Takes $303,000 Position in Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS)

Nomura Holdings Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm bought 4,522 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $303,000.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Masco by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,787,414 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,378,337,000 after purchasing an additional 298,116 shares during the last quarter. Harris Associates L P increased its holdings in Masco by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. Harris Associates L P now owns 9,769,194 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $654,341,000 after acquiring an additional 140,334 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners increased its holdings in Masco by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 9,180,364 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $615,282,000 after acquiring an additional 159,052 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in Masco by 4.8% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 5,574,976 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $373,411,000 after acquiring an additional 254,040 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in Masco by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,934,986 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $210,325,000 after acquiring an additional 145,472 shares during the last quarter. 93.91% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Masco Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE MAS opened at $67.84 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $14.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.79 and a beta of 1.27. The company has a current ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 18.76. Masco Co. has a 1-year low of $47.66 and a 1-year high of $78.94. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $69.71 and its 200 day moving average is $70.80.

Masco (NYSE:MAS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The construction company reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.87 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $1.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.94 billion. Masco had a return on equity of 865.37% and a net margin of 11.60%. Masco’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.87 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Masco Co. will post 4.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Masco Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 24th were paid a $0.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, May 23rd. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.71%. Masco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.43%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Masco 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.