Vicus Capital Purchases 254 Shares of Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS)

Vicus Capital grew its holdings in shares of Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS) by 3.7% in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 7,175 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 254 shares during the quarter. Vicus Capital’s holdings in Masco were worth $478,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Masco during the 4th quarter worth approximately $122,144,000. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Masco in the second quarter worth $82,363,000. Confluence Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Masco in the first quarter valued at $78,181,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Masco by 2.8% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,300,591 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $2,074,591,000 after purchasing an additional 721,117 shares during the period. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Masco by 55.8% during the 1st 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 in the last quarter. 93.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Masco Stock Down 0.6 %

NYSE:MAS traded down $0.48 on Thursday, hitting $77.84. The stock had a trading volume of 179,738 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,932,366. Masco Co. has a 1 year low of $47.66 and a 1 year high of $79.54. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $71.14 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $72.18. The stock has a market cap of $17.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.39 and a beta of 1.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 16.18, a quick ratio of 1.12 and a current ratio of 1.76.

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

Masco Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 19th. Investors of record on Friday, August 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.29 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 2nd. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.49%. Masco’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 28.43%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

MAS has been the topic of a number of research reports. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Masco from $78.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Loop Capital lowered their target price on Masco from $79.00 to $76.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 25th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on shares of Masco from $84.00 to $88.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of Masco from $75.00 to $74.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 25th. Finally, Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Masco from $73.00 to $66.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.