Alliancebernstein L.P. Sells 5,667 Shares of Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS)

Alliancebernstein L.P. lessened its position in shares of Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS) by 1.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 334,380 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 5,667 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P.’s holdings in Masco were worth $24,266,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MAS. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in shares of Masco by 10.2% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,250,400 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $235,881,000 after buying an additional 299,520 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in Masco by 21.0% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 2,997,839 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $218,063,000 after acquiring an additional 520,555 shares during the last quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group boosted its position in Masco by 9.7% during the 4th quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group now owns 2,103,820 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $152,569,000 after acquiring an additional 185,286 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Masco in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $129,306,000. Finally, Empower Advisory Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Masco by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,016,079 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $73,737,000 after purchasing an additional 20,129 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 93.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MAS has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Masco from $94.00 to $91.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Masco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $96.00 to $89.00 in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Oppenheimer upgraded Masco from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $89.00 target price on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on Masco in a research note on Tuesday, April 1st. They issued a “hold” rating and a $71.00 price target for the company. Finally, Barclays upped their price objective on Masco from $84.00 to $87.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 12th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $85.30.

Masco Stock Down 3.1 %

Shares of MAS opened at $60.97 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $73.68 and its 200 day simple moving average is $77.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.74, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a current ratio of 1.75. The firm has a market cap of $12.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.24. Masco Co. has a 52 week low of $59.83 and a 52 week high of $86.70.

Masco (NYSE:MAS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The construction company reported $0.89 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 quarter last year, the company earned $0.83 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Masco Co. will post 4.34 earnings per share for the current year.

Masco Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 10th. Stockholders of record on Friday, February 21st were given a $0.31 dividend. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.03%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, February 21st. This is a boost from Masco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Masco’s payout ratio is presently 32.98%.

Insider Activity at Masco

In other news, CEO Keith J. Allman sold 21,723 shares of Masco stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.36, for a total value of $1,658,768.28. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 60,267 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,601,988.12. The trade was a 26.49 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Renee Straber sold 3,139 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 33,027 shares in the company, valued at $2,370,678.06. This represents a 8.68 % decrease in their position. 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.