GAMMA Investing LLC Buys Shares of 4,781 Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS)

GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new stake in Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 4,781 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $322,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Center for Financial Planning Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Masco by 270.6% during the third quarter. Center for Financial Planning Inc. now owns 667 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 487 shares during the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC bought a new stake in shares of Masco during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new stake in shares of Masco during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Masco by 70.6% during the third quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,051 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 435 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Exchange Traded Concepts LLC bought a new stake in shares of Masco during the third quarter valued at approximately $66,000. 93.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MAS. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Masco from $73.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Masco from $74.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Truist Financial boosted their target price on Masco from $65.00 to $81.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 9th. Oppenheimer started coverage on Masco in a report on Friday, January 19th. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com cut Masco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $69.62.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Richard Allan Marshall sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.05, for a total transaction of $385,250.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 10,465 shares in the company, valued at approximately $806,328.25. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, VP Richard Allan Marshall sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.05, for a total transaction of $385,250.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 10,465 shares in the company, valued at approximately $806,328.25. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Kenneth G. Cole sold 36,210 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.65, for a total transaction of $2,703,076.50. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 58,885 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,395,765.25. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 83,762 shares of company stock worth $6,337,597 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Masco Trading Down 4.5 %

NYSE MAS opened at $69.74 on Thursday. Masco Co. has a twelve month low of $47.66 and a twelve month high of $78.94. 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 stock has a market cap of $15.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.39, a PEG ratio of 2.27 and a beta of 1.25. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $75.31 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $66.74.

Masco (NYSE:MAS) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The construction company reported $0.93 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.87 by $0.06. Masco had a net margin of 11.40% and a return on equity of 3,111.50%. The firm had revenue of $1.93 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.94 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.87 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate 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 issued a dividend of $0.29 per share. This is a boost from Masco’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 21st. Masco’s payout ratio is currently 28.93%.

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.