GAMMA Investing LLC Purchases 903,937 Shares of Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS)

GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Masco Co. (NYSE:MAS - Free Report) by 11,690.9% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 911,669 shares of the construction company's stock after buying an additional 903,937 shares during the quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC owned approximately 0.43% of Masco worth $63,397,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Masco by 5,050.0% during the 4th quarter. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,300 shares of the construction company's stock worth $747,000 after acquiring an additional 10,100 shares during the period. Empower Advisory Group LLC boosted its holdings in Masco by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,016,079 shares of the construction company's stock worth $73,737,000 after buying an additional 20,129 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. grew its position in shares of Masco by 20.5% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 11,337 shares of the construction company's stock worth $823,000 after buying an additional 1,931 shares during the period. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Masco by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 21,497 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $1,560,000 after acquiring an additional 442 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co raised its position in shares of Masco by 25.6% in the 4th quarter. Elo Mutual Pension Insurance Co now owns 24,565 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $1,783,000 after acquiring an additional 5,001 shares during the period. 93.91% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on MAS. Loop Capital set a $62.00 target price on shares of Masco and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Evercore ISI decreased their target price on Masco from $82.00 to $71.00 and set an "in-line" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price target on Masco from $74.00 to $62.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Masco from $65.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Finally, UBS Group restated a "buy" rating and set a $80.00 target price (down from $91.00) on shares of Masco in a report on Thursday, April 24th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, six have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Masco has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $73.63.

Masco Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE MAS traded down $0.09 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $63.28. The company had a trading volume of 1,930,960 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,802,498. Masco Co. has a one year low of $56.55 and a one year high of $86.70. The company has a market capitalization of $13.35 billion, a PE ratio of 16.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.94 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a current ratio of 1.75, a quick ratio of 1.15 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 20.74. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $62.94 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $71.39.

Masco (NYSE:MAS - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The construction company reported $0.87 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.92 by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $1.80 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.84 billion. Masco had a net margin of 10.50% and a return on equity of 838.32%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.93 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Masco Co. will post 4.34 EPS for the current year.

Masco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 9th. Investors of record on Friday, May 23rd will be issued a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.96%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, May 23rd. Masco's payout ratio is currently 33.88%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, VP Renee Straber sold 3,139 shares of Masco stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.78, for a total transaction of $225,317.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 33,027 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,370,678.06. The trade was a 8.68% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.50% of the company's stock.

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.