Verition Fund Management LLC Buys 15,282 Shares of Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS)

Verition Fund Management LLC boosted its stake in Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS) by 17.1% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 104,766 shares of the construction company’s stock after purchasing an additional 15,282 shares during the quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC’s holdings in Masco were worth $8,794,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its holdings in shares of Masco by 1.9% in the 2nd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 9,830,723 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $655,414,000 after purchasing an additional 181,515 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in shares of Masco by 0.9% during the third quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,950,880 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $241,825,000 after acquiring an additional 26,259 shares in the last quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc raised its holdings in shares of Masco by 10.0% in the 2nd quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 2,855,056 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $190,347,000 after acquiring an additional 259,205 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Masco by 66.5% in the 2nd 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. Finally, Ensign Peak Advisors Inc boosted its stake in Masco by 15.7% during the 2nd quarter. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc now owns 1,758,889 shares of the construction company’s stock valued at $117,265,000 after purchasing an additional 238,512 shares during the last quarter. 93.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Masco Stock Performance

NYSE:MAS opened at $80.56 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.74, a quick ratio of 1.21 and a current ratio of 1.83. The firm has a market cap of $17.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.43, a PEG 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. The business’s fifty day moving average is $81.66 and its 200 day moving average is $75.79.

Masco (NYSE:MAS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The construction company reported $1.08 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08. The company had revenue of $1.98 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2 billion. Masco had a net margin of 10.54% and a return on equity of 615.54%. Masco’s revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.00 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Masco Co. will post 4.09 EPS for the current year.

Masco Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on MAS shares. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Masco from $78.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Masco from $90.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Masco from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Masco from $78.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their price objective on shares of Masco from $84.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $85.96.

Insider Activity

In other Masco news, VP Kenneth G. Cole sold 37,814 shares of Masco stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $78.32, for a total transaction of $2,961,592.48. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 36,980 shares in the company, valued at $2,896,273.60. The trade was a 50.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

Masco 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.