Quantbot Technologies LP Invests $1.90 Million in Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS)

Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new position in shares of Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 24,128 shares of the construction company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,903,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Masco in the fourth quarter valued at about $122,144,000. Confluence Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Masco in the first quarter worth about $78,181,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in shares of Masco by 967.9% in the first quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 415,406 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $32,767,000 after acquiring an additional 376,506 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Masco by 1.2% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 25,787,414 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $1,378,337,000 after buying an additional 298,116 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in shares of Masco by 14.9% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,957,357 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $131,437,000 after buying an additional 254,285 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.91% of the company’s stock.

Masco Stock Performance

Shares of MAS traded up $1.51 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $70.73. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,256,948 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,939,062. The stock has a market cap of $15.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.34, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 1.24. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $68.35 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $70.76. The company has a current ratio of 1.74, a quick ratio of 1.09 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 18.76. Masco Co. has a 1-year low of $47.66 and a 1-year high of $78.94.

Masco (NYSE:MAS) last released its quarterly earnings results 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. The business had revenue of $1.93 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.94 billion. Masco had a return on equity of 865.37% and a net margin of 11.60%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.87 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Masco Co. will post 4.11 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Masco Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 10th. Shareholders of record on Friday, May 24th were paid a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, May 23rd. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.64%. Masco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.43%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MAS has been the subject of a number of research reports. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Masco from $79.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 25th. StockNews.com cut Masco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Loop Capital reduced their price target on Masco from $79.00 to $76.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Barclays reduced their price target on Masco from $87.00 to $79.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price target on Masco from $73.00 to $66.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Masco has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $71.46.

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.