Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV Boosts Position in Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS)

Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its position in Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS) by 50.4% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 197,246 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 66,072 shares during the period. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV’s holdings in Masco were worth $13,150,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Masco in the fourth quarter worth approximately $122,144,000. Intech Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Masco in the 4th quarter worth $975,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp raised its holdings in Masco by 14.3% in the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp now owns 542,096 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $42,245,000 after purchasing an additional 67,806 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in Masco during the first quarter valued at $1,903,000. Finally, Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Masco during the second quarter valued at about $82,363,000. 93.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Masco

In other Masco news, VP Kenneth G. Cole sold 37,814 shares of Masco 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 directly owns 36,980 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,896,273.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

MAS has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Masco from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Masco from $73.00 to $66.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Masco from $78.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Barclays increased their price target on Masco from $79.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price objective 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 assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $77.58.

Masco Price Performance

Shares of MAS stock opened at $83.24 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $76.21 and a 200 day moving average price of $73.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 1.24. 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 Co. has a 52-week low of $47.66 and a 52-week high of $83.56.

Masco (NYSE:MAS) last issued its 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 net margin of 11.59% and a return on equity of 602.39%. The business’s revenue was down 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.19 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Masco Co. will post 4.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Masco Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 2nd were given a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 2nd. Masco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.43%.

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.