Lecap Asset Management Ltd. Grows Stake in Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS)

Lecap Asset Management Ltd. grew its holdings in Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS) by 3.9% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 8,171 shares of the construction company’s stock after buying an additional 309 shares during the quarter. Lecap Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings in Masco were worth $686,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of 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 period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its stake in shares of Masco by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 9,830,723 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $655,414,000 after purchasing an additional 181,515 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in shares of Masco by 0.3% in the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,924,621 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $194,985,000 after purchasing an additional 9,094 shares during the period. Impax Asset Management Group plc lifted its stake in shares of Masco by 10.0% in the 2nd quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 2,855,056 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $190,347,000 after purchasing an additional 259,205 shares during the period. Finally, Earnest Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Masco by 16.6% in the 1st quarter. Earnest Partners LLC now owns 2,245,644 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $177,136,000 after purchasing an additional 319,029 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.91% of the company’s stock.

Masco Trading Up 1.1 %

MAS opened at $82.88 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $18.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.31, a P/E/G ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.24. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $81.22 and its 200-day moving average price is $74.28. Masco Co. has a one year low of $47.66 and a one year high of $86.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.18, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.76.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MAS has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Masco from $88.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday. StockNews.com raised Masco from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Masco from $78.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Masco from $90.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on Masco from $78.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $81.75.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Masco news, VP Kenneth G. Cole sold 37,814 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $78.32, for a total transaction of $2,961,592.48. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 36,980 shares in the company, valued at $2,896,273.60. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.