Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS)

Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC grew its stake in Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS) by 41.3% in the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 21,055 shares of the construction company’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,154 shares during the quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC’s holdings in Masco were worth $1,767,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in MAS. Innealta Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Masco in the 2nd quarter valued at $25,000. Family Firm Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Masco in the second quarter valued at about $30,000. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Masco in the third quarter valued at about $38,000. LRI Investments LLC increased its position in Masco by 850.8% during the second quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 599 shares of the construction company’s stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 536 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Masco in the 3rd quarter valued at about $43,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 93.91% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently commented on MAS shares. Loop Capital upped their price objective on Masco from $76.00 to $87.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Royal Bank of Canada cut shares of Masco from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $79.00 to $80.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Masco from $89.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Masco from $89.00 to $96.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on Masco from $95.00 to $94.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Masco currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $85.96.

Masco Stock Performance

Shares of MAS opened at $79.36 on Wednesday. Masco Co. has a 1 year low of $63.60 and a 1 year high of $86.70. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.12 billion, a PE ratio of 21.11, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 1.23. 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 stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $81.28 and a 200-day simple moving average of $76.36.

Masco (NYSE:MAS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The construction company reported $1.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08. Masco had a net margin of 10.54% and a return on equity of 615.54%. The company had revenue of $1.98 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.00 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up .2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Masco Co. will post 4.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Masco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, November 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 8th were paid a $0.29 dividend. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 8th. Masco’s dividend payout ratio is presently 30.85%.

Masco Company 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.