DNB Asset Management AS Has $3.70 Million Stock Holdings in Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS)

DNB Asset Management AS boosted its position in shares of Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS) by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 55,445 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,815 shares during the period. DNB Asset Management AS’s holdings in Masco were worth $3,697,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in MAS. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Masco in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $122,144,000. Confluence Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Masco in the 1st quarter valued at $78,181,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Masco by 2.8% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,300,591 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $2,074,591,000 after purchasing an additional 721,117 shares in the last quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Masco by 55.8% during the first quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 1,538,952 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $121,391,000 after purchasing an additional 551,203 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake 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 valued at $32,767,000 after buying an additional 376,506 shares in the last quarter. 93.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Masco Stock Up 1.4 %

Masco stock opened at $74.92 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.11, a PEG ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.24. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $69.77 and its 200 day simple moving average is $71.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.18, a current ratio of 1.76 and a quick ratio of 1.12. Masco Co. has a fifty-two week low of $47.66 and a fifty-two week high of $79.54.

Masco (NYSE:MAS) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 25th. The construction company reported $1.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.18 by $0.02. Masco had a net margin of 11.59% and a return on equity of 602.39%. The company had revenue of $2.09 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.10 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.19 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 1.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Masco Co. will post 4.1 EPS for the current year.

Masco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 19th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 2nd. Masco’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.43%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

MAS has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Masco from $73.00 to $66.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Masco from $78.00 to $79.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Masco from $81.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. StockNews.com lowered Masco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Masco from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Masco currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $77.58.

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.