MetLife Investment Management LLC Sells 1,961 Shares of Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS)

MetLife Investment Management LLC trimmed its stake in Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS) by 3.3% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 56,778 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 1,961 shares during the quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Masco were worth $4,766,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Masco during the second quarter valued at about $82,363,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its position in Masco by 956.3% during the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 989,640 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $83,070,000 after acquiring an additional 895,950 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Masco by 66.5% in the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,823,934 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $121,581,000 after acquiring an additional 728,690 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can grew its holdings in Masco by 86.5% in the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 634,740 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $42,318,000 after purchasing an additional 294,409 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky increased its position in shares of Masco by 89.5% during the second quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 579,597 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $38,642,000 after purchasing an additional 273,718 shares in the last quarter. 93.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Masco Stock Up 0.2 %

Masco stock opened at $80.56 on Monday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $81.66 and its 200 day moving average price is $75.79. The company has a quick ratio of 1.21, a current ratio of 1.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.74. The firm has a market cap of $17.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 1.24. Masco Co. has a 52 week low of $59.72 and a 52 week high of $86.70.

Masco (NYSE:MAS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The construction company reported $1.08 earnings per share for the quarter, meeting the consensus estimate of $1.08. Masco had a net margin of 10.54% and a return on equity of 615.54%. The firm had revenue of $1.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.00 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Masco Co. will post 4.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Masco Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 25th. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 8th were paid a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.44%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, November 8th. Masco’s payout ratio is currently 30.85%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on MAS. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Masco from $89.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. UBS Group boosted their price target on Masco from $89.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on shares of Masco from $78.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Royal Bank of Canada downgraded shares of Masco from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $79.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Masco from $80.00 to $83.50 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $85.96.

Insider Activity

In other Masco news, VP Kenneth G. Cole sold 37,814 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the vice president now owns 36,980 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,896,273.60. This represents a 50.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

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.