Handelsbanken Fonder AB Trims Stock Position in Masco Corporation $MAS

Handelsbanken Fonder AB lessened its position in shares of Masco Corporation (NYSE:MAS) by 21.1% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 68,200 shares of the construction company’s stock after selling 18,264 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Masco were worth $4,328,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MAS. Focus Partners Wealth raised its position in shares of Masco by 2.6% during the 1st quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 10,414 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $724,000 after buying an additional 265 shares during the period. CW Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Masco during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $238,000. Bank of Nova Scotia raised its position in shares of Masco by 14.8% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 25,555 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $1,645,000 after buying an additional 3,294 shares during the period. WINTON GROUP Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Masco during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $415,000. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Masco by 4.6% during the 2nd quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 31,832 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,049,000 after buying an additional 1,413 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 93.91% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MAS has been the topic of several analyst reports. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Masco from $84.00 to $79.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $88.00 price target on shares of Masco in a research report on Wednesday, February 11th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Masco from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Masco from $79.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Masco from $77.00 to $75.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 20th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $80.07.

Masco Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE MAS opened at $67.28 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $13.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 16.69, a PEG ratio of 1.65 and a beta of 1.34. The company has a quick ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 1.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 109.07. Masco Corporation has a 52-week low of $58.16 and a 52-week high of $79.19. The business’s 50 day moving average is $65.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $66.21.

Masco (NYSE:MAS) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The construction company reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by $0.16. The company had revenue of $1.92 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.07 billion. Masco had a return on equity of 815.20% and a net margin of 10.90%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.87 earnings per share. Masco has set its FY 2026 guidance at 4.100-4.300 EPS. Research analysts predict that Masco Corporation will post 4.25 EPS for the current year.

Masco Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 22nd will be given a $0.32 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, May 22nd. This represents a $1.28 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. Masco’s payout ratio is presently 31.76%.

Masco declared that its board has approved a stock buyback program on Tuesday, February 10th that allows the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the construction company to reacquire up to 13.5% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Masco

In other Masco news, CAO Heath M. Eisman sold 747 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.92, for a total value of $53,724.24. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 12,510 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $899,719.20. The trade was a 5.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.55% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Masco Profile

Masco Corporation is a global leader in the design, manufacture and distribution of branded home improvement and building products. Founded in 1929 and headquartered in Livonia, Michigan, the company has evolved from a small door‐bell manufacturer into a diversified enterprise serving both residential and commercial markets. Over its history, Masco has grown through a combination of organic innovation and strategic acquisitions, building a portfolio of well-recognized brands.

The company’s product offerings are organized into two primary segments.