Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund Has $10.28 Million Stock Position in Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS)

Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund raised its position in Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS) by 26.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 153,446 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 31,992 shares during the period. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund owned about 0.07% of Masco worth $10,278,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Masco by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,787,414 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,378,337,000 after purchasing an additional 298,116 shares during the period. Boston Partners grew its stake in shares of Masco by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 9,021,312 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $481,875,000 after purchasing an additional 359,562 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in shares of Masco by 15.4% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 5,320,936 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $284,404,000 after purchasing an additional 711,988 shares during the period. Northern Trust Corp grew its stake in shares of Masco by 3.8% in the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,934,986 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $210,325,000 after purchasing an additional 145,472 shares during the period. Finally, AustralianSuper Pty Ltd grew its stake in shares of Masco by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd now owns 3,333,651 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $223,288,000 after purchasing an additional 57,395 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.91% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Masco from $73.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Truist Financial upped their price objective on Masco from $65.00 to $81.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. Citigroup increased their price target on Masco from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. StockNews.com lowered Masco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. Finally, Oppenheimer started coverage on Masco in a research report on Friday, January 19th. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $69.62.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Richard Allan Marshall sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.05, for a total value of $385,250.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 10,465 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $806,328.25. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, insider Jai Shah sold 42,552 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.36, for a total transaction of $3,249,270.72. Following the sale, the insider now owns 15,830 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,208,778.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Richard Allan Marshall sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.05, for a total value of $385,250.00. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 10,465 shares in the company, valued at approximately $806,328.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 83,762 shares of company stock valued at $6,337,597 in the last 90 days. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Masco Trading Up 1.3 %

MAS traded up $0.94 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $72.96. The stock had a trading volume of 766,377 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,017,033. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.95, a P/E/G ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 30.05, a quick ratio of 1.08 and a current ratio of 1.68. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $75.37 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $66.57. Masco Co. has a 52 week low of $47.66 and a 52 week high of $78.94.

Masco (NYSE:MAS) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The construction company reported $0.83 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.66 by $0.17. The firm had revenue of $1.88 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.79 billion. Masco had a return on equity of 3,111.50% and a net margin of 11.40%. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.65 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Masco Co. will post 4.11 EPS for the current year.

Masco Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 22nd were paid a $0.29 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 21st. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.59%. This is an increase from Masco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Masco’s dividend payout ratio is 28.93%.

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.