Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS) Shares Sold by Sentry Investment Management LLC

Sentry Investment Management LLC lowered its holdings in shares of Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS) by 17.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 979 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 200 shares during the period. Sentry Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Masco were worth $65,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Masco during the 4th quarter worth approximately $122,144,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Masco in the second quarter worth $82,363,000. Confluence Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Masco in the first quarter valued at $78,181,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC increased its position in Masco by 66.5% during the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,823,934 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $121,581,000 after purchasing an additional 728,690 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Masco by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,300,591 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,074,591,000 after purchasing an additional 721,117 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.91% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Kenneth G. Cole sold 37,814 shares of Masco stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.32, for a total transaction of $2,961,592.48. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 36,980 shares in the company, valued at $2,896,273.60. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on MAS. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Masco from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. Citigroup cut their price target on Masco from $73.00 to $66.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Masco from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Barclays upped their target price on Masco from $79.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Truist Financial raised their price target on Masco from $81.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $77.58.

Masco Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of MAS stock opened at $80.21 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.12, a current ratio of 1.76 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.18. Masco Co. has a fifty-two week low of $47.66 and a fifty-two week high of $81.91. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $75.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $72.94. The stock has a market cap of $17.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.24.

Masco (NYSE:MAS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The construction company reported $1.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.18 by $0.02. Masco had a net margin of 11.59% and a return on equity of 602.39%. The firm had revenue of $2.09 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.10 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.19 EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Masco Co. will post 4.11 EPS for the current year.

Masco Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 19th. Investors of record on Friday, August 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 2nd. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.45%. Masco’s payout ratio is currently 28.43%.

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.