Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Masco Corporation $MAS

Key Points

• Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC cut its stake in Masco Corporation by 64.3% during the 2nd quarter, now holding 13,345 shares valued at approximately $859,000.
• Several hedge funds have increased their holdings in Masco, with Vanguard Group Inc. raising its stake by 3.8% to own 27 million shares worth nearly $1.88 billion.
• Masco recently reported earnings of $1.30 per share, surpassing estimates, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.31 per share with a yield of 1.8%.

Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC reduced its stake in shares of Masco Corporation (NYSE:MAS - Free Report) by 64.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 13,345 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 24,015 shares during the quarter. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC's holdings in Masco were worth $859,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Masco by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 27,092,099 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $1,883,985,000 after buying an additional 984,403 shares during the period. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Masco by 47.4% during the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,159,518 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $289,253,000 after buying an additional 1,337,889 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of Masco by 4.2% in the 1st quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,882,253 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $269,972,000 after purchasing an additional 155,351 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in shares of Masco by 6.6% in the 2nd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,311,261 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $212,351,000 after purchasing an additional 206,311 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in shares of Masco by 2.9% in the 1st quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,535,098 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $176,291,000 after purchasing an additional 71,881 shares in the last quarter. 93.91% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Masco Trading Up 2.3%

NYSE:MAS opened at $70.26 on Wednesday. Masco Corporation has a 12-month low of $56.55 and a 12-month high of $83.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 1.18. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 19.63, a current ratio of 1.82 and a quick ratio of 1.14. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $71.74 and a 200 day simple moving average of $66.78.

Masco (NYSE:MAS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 31st. The construction company reported $1.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.22. Masco had a return on equity of 1,519.31% and a net margin of 10.51%.The business had revenue of $2.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.20 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 1.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Masco has set its FY 2025 guidance at 3.900-4.100 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Masco Corporation will post 4.34 EPS for the current year.

Masco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 8th were given a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 8th. Masco's payout ratio is 32.89%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Masco news, CAO Heath M. Eisman sold 2,431 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.62, for a total transaction of $181,401.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 12,036 shares in the company, valued at approximately $898,126.32. The trade was a 16.80% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Jai Shah sold 82,910 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.04, for a total value of $6,304,476.40. Following the transaction, the insider owned 39,638 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,014,073.52. This trade represents a 67.66% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.50% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

MAS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Masco in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Zacks Research upgraded Masco from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, September 19th. Robert W. Baird downgraded Masco from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $70.00 price target for the company. in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Baird R W downgraded Masco from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Vertical Research initiated coverage on Masco in a report on Monday. They issued a "hold" rating for the company. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and twelve have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $73.86.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.