Patten & Patten Inc. TN Decreases Stake in Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS)

Patten & Patten Inc. TN lessened its stake in Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS) by 2.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 10,152 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 275 shares during the quarter. Patten & Patten Inc. TN’s holdings in Masco were worth $737,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Masco by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,294,294 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $864,103,000 after buying an additional 194,297 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its stake in shares of Masco by 10.2% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,250,400 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $235,881,000 after buying an additional 299,520 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in shares of Masco by 21.0% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,997,839 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $218,063,000 after buying an additional 520,555 shares during the period. Empower Advisory Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Masco by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,016,079 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $73,737,000 after buying an additional 20,129 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its stake in shares of Masco by 49.2% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 883,859 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $74,192,000 after buying an additional 291,658 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.91% of the company’s stock.

Masco Trading Up 1.6 %

NYSE:MAS opened at $70.35 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $14.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.71, a PEG ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a current ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.74. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $76.04 and its 200-day simple moving average is $78.47. Masco Co. has a 12-month low of $63.81 and a 12-month high of $86.70.

Masco (NYSE:MAS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The construction company reported $0.89 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.01. Masco had a return on equity of 838.32% and a net margin of 10.50%. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.83 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Masco Co. will post 4.34 EPS for the current year.

Masco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Investors of record on Friday, February 21st were issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.76%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. This is a positive change from Masco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Masco’s dividend payout ratio is currently 32.98%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on MAS shares. UBS Group decreased their target price on Masco from $94.00 to $91.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Oppenheimer upgraded Masco from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $89.00 target price for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Masco from $85.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Zelman & Associates upgraded Masco to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price on Masco from $82.00 to $77.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $86.32.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Keith J. Allman sold 21,723 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.36, for a total transaction of $1,658,768.28. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 60,267 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,601,988.12. This represents a 26.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP Renee Straber sold 3,139 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.78, for a total value of $225,317.42. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 33,027 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,370,678.06. The trade was a 8.68 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.