Harris Associates L P Sells 104,198 Shares of Masco Corporation $MAS

Key Points

• Harris Associates L P reduced its stake in Masco Corporation by 1.6%, holding approximately 6.27 million shares worth about $436 million.
• Various other hedge funds have increased their positions in Masco, with Global X Japan Co. Ltd. raising its stake by 120.2% in the first quarter.
• Masco Corporation announced a quarterly dividend of $0.31 per share, reflecting a 1.7% dividend yield and a payout ratio of 32.89%.

Harris Associates L P reduced its stake in Masco Corporation (NYSE:MAS - Free Report) by 1.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,270,597 shares of the construction company's stock after selling 104,198 shares during the quarter. Harris Associates L P owned about 2.97% of Masco worth $436,057,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Masco by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 27,092,099 shares of the construction company's stock worth $1,883,985,000 after purchasing an additional 984,403 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Masco by 47.4% in the 1st quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,159,518 shares of the construction company's stock worth $289,253,000 after purchasing an additional 1,337,889 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Masco by 4.2% during the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,882,253 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $269,972,000 after acquiring an additional 155,351 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG increased its position in shares of Masco by 12.4% during the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 2,762,250 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $200,456,000 after acquiring an additional 305,156 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its position in shares of Masco by 2.9% during the first quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,535,098 shares of the construction company's stock valued at $176,291,000 after acquiring an additional 71,881 shares in the last quarter. 93.91% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Masco

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on MAS. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Masco from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, June 21st. Robert W. Baird cut Masco from an "outperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and set a $70.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Baird R W cut Masco from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on Masco from $62.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Masco from $65.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, August 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have given a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $74.13.

Masco Stock Performance

Masco stock traded up $1.89 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $75.87. 2,806,501 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,150,219. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 1.19. The business has a 50 day moving average of $69.34 and a two-hundred day moving average of $67.10. Masco Corporation has a 12 month low of $56.55 and a 12 month high of $86.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 19.63, a current ratio of 1.82 and a quick ratio of 1.14.

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

Masco Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 25th. Investors of record on Friday, August 8th were given a dividend of $0.31 per share. This represents a $1.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, August 8th. Masco's payout ratio is 32.89%.

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.